Summer of Surprises
by SK Dark Dragon
Summary: Yugi and his friends go on a trip to the beach for a week, in which they encounter many old enemies, and new challenges. But first, they'll have to survive the Oregon Trail Game of Seto Kaiba's in Virtual Reality...*Rated for Safety!* COMPLETED!! R+R!
1. Chapter 1: The Oregon Trail

Chapter One: The Oregon Trail  
  
*Note: Slight Virtual Reality Spoiler. Just thought I'd give the warning.  
  
"Yahoo!" Joey Wheeler cried, punching his fist into the air as he and his friends ran out of the school building one sunny afternoon. "Summer!"  
  
Yugi Motou sucked in the pollen-fragrance of the air, as if summer itself had a new scent to go along with it. It felt good to know that every responsibility had been taken off his shoulders. Well, every school related responsibility at least.  
  
Behind him, Ryou Bakura sneezed.  
  
"Well," he said, rubbing his eyes. "What should we do on our first day of summer vacation?"  
  
Triston Taylor checked his watch.  
  
"Man, I've got to be home in twenty-minutes so the whole family can be there for "family dinner," he muttered, starting off down the sidewalks, slowly becoming more and more empty as the other kids went home.  
  
"Later!"  
  
"And I'VE got dance class," Tea announced, following Triston. "Bye Yugi! I'll see you all tomorrow!"  
  
The remaining people (Duke Devlin, Yugi, Joey, and Bakura) stared for a moment at the sudden loss of two of their "playmates" for the afternoon.  
  
"Um…correction, what should the REST of us do on our first afternoon of vacation?" Bakura repeated.  
  
"Maybe you'd like to become test subjects in my new game," Came a new voice from behind them.  
  
The four turned around to see Seto Kaiba standing there.  
  
"I need people to test this new game, and the only people I know who would be willing are Yugi and his friends," Seto thought to himself. "As much as I hate to invite them, they'll give me a real opinion on the system. Maybe not Joey, though." he added.  
  
"It's rare Kaiba ever asks us to do anything, so either he's in a really good mood, or he really wants to test this new game," Yugi thought to himself.  
  
"What kind of game is it?" Yugi inquired.  
  
"It's a CD-Rom game…" Seto began, but Duke cut him off.  
  
"And that's new and different, how…?" he asked, twirling a lock of hair around his finger.  
  
"It's a CD-Rom game, but the players play it INSIDE Virtual Reality," Seto finished.  
  
"So, like, we ACT out the game??!!" Joey asked, excitedly.  
  
"You could put it that way," Seto replied.  
  
"Cool!" Bakura agreed happily. "I'd love to try it out!"  
  
Yugi looked a little nervous. Both of his…THEIR…previous visits to Virtual Reality ended up in chaos and became pretty dangerous. The first time, they nearly lost Joey, Mai, and Mokuba in a fight with the Big 5. The second time, *the whole place ended up blowing up thanks to Yami Malik.  
  
"Is…it…you know…safe?" Yugi asked, unsure.  
  
Seto nodded.  
  
"I've made sure the system is safer than before, but that's another reason you're going to be the test subjects," Seto replied, walking over to his car. "Come on!"  
  
"Let's go!" Duke called as he and Joey bounded over to the car, followed by Bakura, and lastly Yugi.  
  
*****  
  
Twenty minutes later, they had been taken away from the orange afternoon sun and down into the lab of the Kaibacorp building.  
  
"Don't touch anything," Seto said sternly as he flicked on the lights and began typing on a computer.  
  
"Sure…" Joey muttered, looking around at all the strange objects. "What does this do?" he asked, pointing to a large lever.  
  
"I said…DON'T touch anything," Seto snapped, turning around.  
  
"I didn't! I didn't!" Joey cried defensively. "I just asked what it did."  
  
Seto sighed and sat back down again.  
  
"You'll see," he replied, opening the CD-Rom drive and put in a disc.  
  
Suddenly, the lab door flew open and Seto's younger brother, Mokuba Kaiba, walked inside.  
  
"Hi Ni-sama! (respected brother)" he said cheerily, walked over to him.  
  
"Hello, Mokuba," Seto replied, hitting enter and then standing up. "I think everything's ready now."  
  
Mokuba turned around and saw Yugi and the others.  
  
"Are they going to test it out to?" he asked.  
  
Seto nodded.  
  
"So…" Yugi muttered. "What game are we playing?"  
  
"You'll have heard of it before," Seto replied, holding up a case. "It's the Oregon Trail."  
  
"Ah!" Joey said, snapping his fingers. "I like that one. Except I killed all of my team."  
  
**For those who don't know, The Oregon trail is a game where you and 4 or 5 teammates, (you choose the names) embark on a journey to a new land. You have a wagon and oxen to help you along the way and you need to choose both your routes and supplies carefully in order to make it to the new land with everyone still intact.**  
  
Everyone sweat-dropped.  
  
"Well, that's why we're not going to let you be the one to make the decisions," Seto replied icily.  
  
Joey folded his arms muttering something angrily.  
  
"Now, just enter your names up here, and then climb into the virtual reality pods. I'll set it on auto so we can automatically start when we're all situated," Seto replied, pointing to the computer to sign. "And don't worry," he added, as Yugi nervously hunted and pecked for his keys on the keyboard. "I've got a safe guard button programmed in several spots in the game. They've all been tested so we won't get trapped."  
  
"Okay," Yugi said a few minutes later, once everyone, including Seto and Mokuba, were situated in their own pods. "I'm ready."  
  
"Start!" Seto said sternly, and the pods activated.   
  
A few seconds later, they all found themselves in Virtual Reality world, standing on a dusty trail in the middle of an old-fashioned town.  
  
"What happened to my clothes?!" Joey cried, seeing he was now wearing a faded green button-up shirt and old brown pants.  
  
"This isn't modern day, Joey," Seto snapped. "Your new fashions won't be available. If you want…" he gestured toward the general store. "You can go pick up some new clothes."  
  
"I'll go check it out," Joey replied, going inside. "I'll get our supplies while I'm at it."  
  
"We'll die if that dog gets the supplies," Seto muttered, shaking his head. "You," he pointed to Duke. "Go get something real."  
  
"And you," he pointed to Bakura. "Go buy the animals."  
  
"Uh…okay!" Bakura said nervously, heading off to the barn.  
  
"I'll get wagon, Mokuba," Seto said, pointing to the wagons. "You can wait here if you want, with Yugi."  
  
  
  
Mokuba nodded.  
  
*****  
  
A few minutes later, Joey and Duke returned with corn-sacks full of supplies. Yugi and Mokuba helped them load everything into the nice wagon Seto had managed to get them.  
  
"Where is Bakura?" Duke asked, wiping his forehead off.  
  
Seto looked around.  
  
"I hope he isn't lost," he muttered, angrily.  
  
"Bakura?" Yugi called.  
  
Suddenly, a shrill scream filled the town air. Everyone, except the Virtual people, turned to look at Bakura, who was holding an armful of chickens, and was chasing after about 10 oxen.  
  
The feathers were flying off as he ran, causing him to sneeze.  
  
"Help! *achoo*" he cried, staggering around under the weight of the moving chickens. "Help me!"  
  
  
  
Duke slapped his forehead.  
  
"Oh no!" Yugi cried, running into the shoe store to avoid being trampled.  
  
"Get those oxen!" Joey yelled, running after them.  
  
Duke and Seto followed, Mokuba helped Bakura with the chickens.  
  
"*Achoo!* Thanks…" Bakura muttered as they shoved the clucking hens and roosters into the wagon. "I hope they don't eat that food back there…"  
  
"This is harder than a I thought," Mokuba sighed.  
  
After several minutes of chasing, ducking, scrambling, and catching, Seto, Duke, and Joey returned with all but one of the oxen.  
  
  
  
"We couldn't catch that last one," Joey sighed as they put the reigns on the nine remaining. "Oh well. This is plenty."  
  
Yugi came out of the shoe shop with a tower of shoes.  
  
"I got some nice shoes!" he said, dumping them in the back, then climbing back in the wagon himself.  
  
The others joined him.  
  
"Are we ready now?" Seto sighed, looking back at the cramped wagon.  
  
Everyone nodded.  
  
The oxen started to pull, but then stopped.  
  
"What?!" Seto asked, looking at the back again. "Oh, we can't all ride in the wagon at once. Bakura, you and Joey walk for a while, then Duke and I can."  
  
"Wait!" Joey protested. "I'm NOT walking, even if it is VR. I'm buying a horse."  
  
"Me too, but can you get it for me, Duke?" Bakura asked. "I'm not sure how it will react to me, after the last experience."  
  
Duke shrugged.  
  
"Okay!"  
  
****  
  
Ten more minutes later, Joey and Duke returned on their horses.  
  
"Okay, is everyone ready now?" Seto asked with a sigh. "I want to test how the game itself works, not how well you can buy supplies from it."  
  
"Okay!" Yugi cheered. "Let's go!!"  
  
*****  
  
End of Chapter One  
  
There is much more to this story than just the Oregon trail game, I should let you know. I think it's always good to have a funnier first chapter to get into the mood. -Seto-Kaiba  
  
"True! Yami Bakura and Yami Taerro, and even another old Yami will make an appearance in this story. You don't know what other Yami I'm talking about? Well…" -Red Archery Girl  
  
*Covers her mouth.*  
  
  
  
They'll find out soon enough, Red! In the meantime, please review! Thank you! 


	2. Chapter 2: On the Trail

Chapter 2: On the Trail  
  
*Note: I actually played the game with these characters, and this story follows nearly exactly what happened in my game.*  
  
Chapter 2:  
  
A large pop-up menu appeared in front of them. The options were: Trail 1, Trail 2, or Trail 3.  
  
"What is that?" Bakura cried, looking up at the menu.  
  
"A touch-menu. Touch a trail, I don't care which one," Seto instructed.  
  
Joey reached out and put his hand against Trail 1. The menu disappeared and a long trail appeared in front of them. Joey and Bakura's horses began to run down the trail and wagon began to move, pulled by the nine oxen.  
  
"Well, this looks pretty good," Seto commented as they continued down the ever-changing environment. (Days go by much quicker in the Oregon Trail world. About a day per 10 seconds.)  
  
  
  
"Maybe," Bakura commented, clinging tightly to the horse. "But I feel kind of dizzy."  
  
A large pop-up menu appeared in front of them, stopping the wagon and the horses.  
  
"Bakura has Cholera." It read.  
  
"I do?" Bakura asked, pointing to himself.  
  
Seto sighed.  
  
"What are the options?" he called out to Joey.  
  
"Uh…increase fluid intake?" he read off the menu, getting off his horse.  
  
"No, no," Seto shook his head.  
  
"How about peppermint?" Joey asked, then he laughed.  
  
"No, no, that would be silly!" he laughed, slapping his horse. The horse snorted.  
  
"Choose peppermint," Seto instructed.  
  
Everyone looked at Seto. (Duke had agreed to switch places with Bakura for the time being, so he was on the horse and Bakura was in back of the wagon with Yugi and Mokuba)  
  
"Peppermint?!" Joey asked, curiously.  
  
Seto shrugged.  
  
"It always works," he said. "Choose it!"  
  
"K," Joey said, putting his hand on the peppermint button and the menu screen disappeared.  
  
"But I think I might be allergic to peppermint…" Bakura mumbled.  
  
The wagons continued and the horses began to run again. A few minutes, or rather, a few weeks, went by. Seto was examining every aspect of the Virtually projected game. Things seemed to be going okay; Bakura's health read "Good" again, and nothing had really cropped up that was any bad news.  
  
Suddenly, a menu screen appeared again.  
  
"Seto has been…mauled by a bear!" Yugi cried as he read the menu.  
  
Tears suddenly appeared in Seto's clothing, stained with virtual blood. He let go of the reigns to examine himself.  
  
"Ni-sama!" Mokuba cried, hurrying over to him.  
  
"It's okay, Mokuba," he replied, patting Mokuba on the head. "It's only a game. I can't feel any real pain."  
  
Mokuba sighed.  
  
"That's good."  
  
"What are the options?" Duke asked, leaning forward on his horse to see the menu.  
  
"Rub salt in the wound?" Joey read. "That sounds good."  
  
"Are you insane?!" Seto cried angrily.  
  
Mokuba glared at Joey. Bakura got out to read the menu.  
  
"How about we clean and…DRESS the wound?!" Bakura asked, uncertainly.  
  
Yugi giggled.  
  
"That means put a bandage on it," he laughed.  
  
"Oh," Bakura replied, blushing at his ignorance.  
  
Duke got off his horse and went up to the screen.  
  
"Let's try cleaning and dressing it like Bakura said," he replied, pushing that button.  
  
Suddenly, a large bandage appeared over Seto's wound. Mokuba lead him away from the reigns.  
  
"Why not let someone else take over?" he asked as he leaned his brother against the side of the wagon. "I don't want you to die, even if it is a game."  
  
Seto smiled a little.  
  
"Okay," he agreed.  
  
"That's better," Bakura said. "I guess…I'll take the horse again."  
  
"No, you stay in the back with your chickens," Duke replied as he picked one up and put it down in Bakura's arms. "You bought them, they're your responsibility."  
  
The chicken clucked and bit Bakura's finger.  
  
"Good thing you can't feel pain in this virtual game," Bakura muttered, climbing back into the wagon with his feathery friends.  
  
"And we're off again!" Yugi said, taking the reigns.  
  
A few days past (really like a minute) before they were greeted by another pop-up message.  
  
"Seto's injuries have become infected," Joey read, leaning on his horse to see the message and the option list. "See?! We should have rubbed salt in it."  
  
"Wouldn't that hurt, Joey?" Duke asked, scratching his head.  
  
"Don't hurt my Ni-sama!" Mokuba cried, clinging to Seto's arm.  
  
"Just use…sulfur," Seto decided, gazing down the list.  
  
Joey pushed the button and the wagon ride continued.  
  
"I still say salt is the best method," Joey remarked as they made their way down a mountainside.  
  
"And that's why you're not a doctor," Seto mumbled.  
  
"Isn't the scenery lovely?" Yugi commented while holding onto the reigns of the oxen.  
  
True. There were pretty rivers running through the large fields, and not a building in sight. Very country-side-ish.  
  
A few more days (minutes) passed, and Bakura began to play with the chickens.  
  
"You know," he said happily, petting one's feathery head. "These guys are kind of fun."  
  
Suddenly, one of the chickens behind him disappeared.  
  
  
  
"What?" Bakura asked, searching under blankets and trunks for it. "Where is it?"  
  
He was so wrapped up in looking for the chicken, that he didn't notice the wagon had stopped.  
  
"Uh…Bakura?" Joey asked.  
  
"What?" Bakura replied, looking inside Joey's trunk.  
  
"I'm sorry, Bakura, but look at this message," Yugi said sadly, pointing at it.  
  
Bakura climbed over Seto and Mokuba to the front of the wagon and read the message.  
  
"One chicken has…DIED?!" he wailed.  
  
"I'm sorry," Yugi repeated, patting his friend's shoulder.  
  
"We still have ten left," Mokuba pointed out, trying to be helpful.  
  
Bakura sat down sadly.  
  
"But what about the one that died? It was Feathers that died! I liked him!" he moaned sadly.  
  
"It was a VIRTUAL chicken," Duke muttered. "It didn't have any feelings. It was a very painless death."  
  
Joey snickered.  
  
Seto sighed.  
  
  
  
"Let's just continue!" he commanded.  
  
Joey pushed the "OK" button on the menu and the trip resumed.  
  
It was only a few minutes later when the next terrible message appeared.  
  
"Dust storm?!" Joey cried, coughing on the virtual dust. "This is just great!"  
  
"*Cough* No…*ACHOO!* it's…*gag* not!" Bakura cried, coughing and sneezing in the dust as it flew around him, and all through the wagon.  
  
Seto shielded his eyes from the dust and tried to see ahead.  
  
"MY ALLERGIES ARE DRIVING ME CRAZY!" Bakura cried, his eyes watering.  
  
A chicken nearly fell out of the wagon, but Mokuba managed to grab it in time. He gave it to Bakura, who set it down in his lap and petted it.  
  
The dust storm cleared up and a few minutes later, a new message appeared.  
  
"Seto has taken a turn for the worse?" Joey read aloud, uncertainly. "This is great! Just use salt!"  
  
  
  
"Enough with the salt, Joey!" Duke cried angrily, trying to smack him, but only succeeded in falling off his horse and hitting the ground.  
  
"Drat," he muttered, getting to his feet.  
  
"Look," Seto said, talking to Yugi, Bakura, and Mokuba. (Joey and Duke were trying to hit each other outside the wagon) "I've played this game a lot, and if we don't do something, I'll die, and since I'm the main user, when I die, the game ends."  
  
"No! I don't want you to die!" Mokuba cried.  
  
"Well," Yugi sighed, looking at the options. "Let's try antiseptic."  
  
"No salt!" Joey cried, then went back to his fight with Duke.  
  
Bakura poked his head out of the wagon, a chicken in his arms, as Yugi pressed the button to continue.  
  
"Quit fighting!" he yelled. "We're starting up again!"  
  
The route resumed.  
  
"I think that antiseptic will help Ni-sama," Mokuba said to Yugi. He turned around, but his brother was no where in sight.  
  
"Ni-sama?" Mokuba asked, looking around, then he started to sweat, remembering Bakura and the lost chicken.  
  
"What's wrong?" Bakura asked, when suddenly, the entire wagon vanished, and so did the path, and the gang found themselves in a flat dirt field, with a large pop-up in front of them.  
  
Joey gulped.  
  
"Seto has died," Yugi read. "Oh no!"  
  
Joey shook his head, sadly.  
  
"I TOLD him to use the salt," he said in a low "I-Told-You-So" voice.  
  
"That's not funny, Joey!" Mokuba snapped angrily. "The game's over now. Let's go back where Ni-sama is ALIVE!"  
  
He punched the "End Game" button as Bakura bid farewell to his chickens.  
  
"Bye Fluffy!" he called as the Virtual Oregon Trail area disappeared, and he found himself back in the Kaibacorp lab.  
  
"Well," Yugi said, as he climbed out of his pod.  
  
Seto was ending the game on the screen and shutting down his computer. (He was perfectly intact in real life, thankfully)  
  
"It was…" Bakura muttered, looking at Duke for help.  
  
  
  
"Hard," Duke finished. "We lost after a month on the trail!"  
  
"Well," Seto said, turning around.  
  
Mokuba was right next to him, obviously very happy it had only been a game.  
  
  
  
"I guess, thanks for testing," he said to them as they headed for the door.  
  
"No problem," Joey said with a wave. "Next time let me be the captain of the team!"  
  
"A dog be the captain?!" Seto asked in fake surprise. "I don't think we'd last a week like that."  
  
"WHAT?!" Joey cried, but Yugi grabbed his arms and pulled him out the door.  
  
"Later Kaiba!" he called and they shut the door.  
  
Mokuba gave his brother a quick hug before shutting down the other computer.  
  
"That was fun, Ni-sama!" he commented as they walked out of the room. "Except the part where you died!"  
  
Seto laughed.  
  
"I wouldn't like to think about what would have happened if we'd been under Joey's control," he said out-loud.  
  
Mokuba laughed too.  
  
*****  
  
End of Chapter 2  
  
Here's now where the main plot of the story will start. (The beginning of Chapter 3) I hope you liked the Oregon Trail, though!  
  
"Poor Seto died!"  
  
I know. But that's what happened in the game I played. He just never got any better. :`(  
  
Anyway, review please! And next chapter up either this evening or tomorrow morning! 


	3. Chapter 3: The Contest Winner

Chapter 3: The Contest Winner  
  
It was close to 5:00 in the evening when Yugi reached the Game Shop, where he lived with his mom and grandpa. He opened the door to the house part of the building, and dumped his backpack down on the ground near the staircase.  
  
"I'm home!" he called as he walked past the kitchen.  
  
Yugi suddenly stopped after passing by the kitchen. He turned around and rushed back over to the door. Something was different.  
  
His mother was by the stove, cooking dinner, his grandfather was at the table, reading the newspaper…but who was the person BESIDE his grandpa?!  
  
"Mai?" Yugi asked, walking into the kitchen and recognizing the blonde as Mai Valentine. "What are you doing here?"  
  
Mai looked up from the cup of tea she was drinking.  
  
"Waiting for you, hun," she said pulling out a chair and gesturing for him to sit down.  
  
Yugi took the seat.  
  
"Where have you been? It's been about 2 hours since school let out…" Mai started, but Yugi cut her off.  
  
"I was over at Kaibacorp doing some new-game testing," Yugi explained quickly. "But Mai, what are you doing at my house?"  
  
Mai laughed.  
  
"Well," she said happily, starting to explain. "Do you remember that contest that was held at Hard as Nails a few weeks ago?" she asked him.  
  
"No…by the way, what's Hard as Nails?"  
  
Mai sighed.  
  
"The nail shop in the mall!" she exclaimed.  
  
"Oh," Yugi said, realizing he'd probably never go there, as a nail shop was not for boys, and that no wonder he'd never heard of the contest there.  
  
"Anyway!" Mai continued, a smile growing on her face. "The contest was to win a trip for you and ten friends to go to the coast for a week!"  
  
"To the beach?!" Yugi asked, excitedly.  
  
Mai nodded.  
  
"Yes, and can you guess who won?!" she asked even more impatiently. "ME!!"  
  
Yugi looked impressed.  
  
  
  
"You won the contest Mai?" he asked, leaning on the table. (luckily, his mom wasn't watching.)  
  
"Yes, but remember, the prize was for me and ten friends, so I'm going to be inviting all of you too," she said, pulling out a pad of paper, where a few names were written down. "Only thing is, there's only six of you that I counted; You, Joey, Duke, Triston, Tea, Serenity."  
  
Yugi thought for a moment, when Yami appeared beside him.  
  
"Yami?" he asked, looking at his spirit friend.  
  
"What about Bakura, and that Taerro boy," Yami suggested.  
  
Yugi nodded.  
  
"Taerro and Bakura," Yugi pointed out to Mai, and she scribbled down their names.  
  
Mai chewed on the tip of her pencil.  
  
"That still leaves 2 people," Mai said with a sigh. "Who else do you hang out with?"  
  
"Hmmm," Yugi thought for a moment, then it clicked.  
  
"I know!" Yugi cried.  
  
"You do?" Yami asked, coming closer. "Who?"  
  
"Kaiba and Mokuba," Yugi said.  
  
Mai laughed a little.  
  
  
  
"Seto Kaiba and his brother?" she asked with a giggle. "I don't care. But if I've got the tickets I'll give them out," she added, writing their names down last on the paper.  
  
Mai stretched and yawned.  
  
"Well, hun, I'd better get home and start packing," she told him, standing up and walking to the door, her high-heels clicking on the laminate floor.  
  
Yugi turned around, suddenly.  
  
"Packing? Mai, when is this trip?" Yugi asked nervously.  
  
"Well, they told me the best time to leave would be tomorrow, as this is the only week where there wasn't bookings," she explained. "We'll have first choice of all the rooms! And there's some little fair or event going on this week we can check out…" she added, opening the door.  
  
"Thanks Mai," Yugi called, waving. "Call me later with travel instructions, ok?" he asked as she closed the door.  
  
"Sure!"  
  
"Grandpa!" Yugi cried, running over to the table, where his grandfather was still deeply immersed in the newspaper. "Can I…"  
  
"Mai already arranged everything …at least for the six of you," Grandpa said with a smile, putting down his newspaper. "You can go."  
  
"Thanks!" Yugi cried, giving his grandpa a hug and running out the room.  
  
  
  
"Yugi!" Came a sharp voice from behind him.   
  
  
  
Yugi took a few steps backward and into the kitchen.  
  
"Yes mom?" he asked her, looking kindly up at the woman.  
  
"I'll miss you!" she cried, losing the stern voice and wrapping her arms around Yugi. "Now, be good and don't forget to call us when you get there!"  
  
"Sure…sure mom," Yugi giggled, nervously, breaking out of the embrace. "I've got to call the others and let them know what's going on!"  
  
*****  
  
That evening, Yugi snuggled deep under his covers. He was tired. He'd spent the evening making phone calls to everyone Mai had invited to go along with her, and the called Mai and asked for the traveling situation. Seto and Mokuba would go on their own and meet them there. Joey, Yugi, Bakura, and Serenity would go in Mai's car, and Taerro, Tea, and Triston would go with Mr. Taylor, who was spending the week there as well. (Triston wasn't too pleased with this)  
  
Yami came out of the Millennium Puzzle and sat on the end of Yugi's bed.  
  
"Yugi?" he asked gently.  
  
"Mm," Yugi said sleepily, rolling over so he could face the spirit of the puzzle.  
  
"Is something wrong?" he asked Yami, rubbing his tired eyes.  
  
Yami shook his head.  
  
"No, nothing really," he replied, looking down at Yugi. "Just curious about this trip."  
  
"Doesn't it sound great, Yami?" Yugi asked excitedly. (well, as excitedly as you can get for being half-asleep.  
  
Yami nodded, but inside, he felt unsure. He didn't want to spoil the boy's good mood, but the last time they had "won" or received anything free, they had ended up in a short-circuited amusement park. Yami still hadn't discovered who'd put them there, and he was still searching for that answer.  
  
But until they were found, nothing was entirely safe.  
  
  
  
"Good night, Yugi," Yami said kindly as Yugi's eyes dropped shut again.  
  
  
  
"Mm," Yugi murmured.  
  
******  
  
Bakura was walking down the streets late at night. The lap-lights that shone on the streets only made him look more frightening that he already did look, as he was possessed by Yami Bakura again.  
  
"Hmm, where is that fool?" he thought, searching around.  
  
Yami Bakura continued down the path, eying anyone who passed suspiciously.  
  
He remembered the last time he had attempted to take something from Yugi and his friends. How his so called PARTNER deserted him at the last minute. Yami Bakura's face twisted into a frown at the memory of this. He had freed Taerro's evil spirit to have him work FOR him, not do what he pleased.  
  
Suddenly, Yami Bakura saw what he'd been looking for. Yami Taerro, sitting on a park bench, deep in thought. Yami Bakura approached, and tapped his shoulder.  
  
"WHAT?!" Yami Taerro snapped, whipping around to see Bakura. "Oh, it's you." he snapped.  
  
"Yes, and you have broken your end of the bargain," Yami Bakura announced, eyes narrowing in anger. "I freed you, but you failed in helping me get Yugi's puzzle!"  
  
"So what!" Yami Taerro snapped, turning around. "You shouldn't have freed me then."  
  
"Then prepare to return to your old home," Yami Bakura declared, the Millennium Ring activating and he sent out a deadly flash at Yami Taerro.  
  
  
  
When the smoke cleared, however, Yami Taerro was no where in sight.  
  
"Where did he go?" Yami Bakura hissed, looking up and down the streets for any sign.  
  
*****  
  
Yami Taerro had escaped by running into the bushes near the path. True, he was safe from Yami Bakura, but only for the time being.  
  
  
  
Yami Taerro kicked a stone.  
  
"I need Shadow Magic!" he hissed. "I can't compare with that Bakura or Yugi without it. But there's no way to get it…"  
Suddenly, a large brown animal popped out of the bushes, startling Taerro. He looked at it closely for a moment, and then realized what it really was!  
  
"The monster that idiot let loose!" he cried, walking toward it, carefully. "He's so idiotic he forgot to return it!"  
  
He held out his wrist, the bracelet on it glowing. It wrapped the Spear Cretin up in it's purple and blue substance. It let out a squeal of terror.  
  
"If he summoned this thing from the Shadow Realm, as no doubt he did, I will use my bracelet to drain it of the Shadow Magic IT possesses, increasing my own!!!"  
  
As the Shadow Powers flowed into Yami Taerro, the atmosphere changed. The surrounding environment turned black and purple, spirits and monsters inhabiting the world.  
  
"The Legendary Shadow Realm," Yami Taerro breathed, looking around. (Spear Cretin hopped off home)  
  
He examined the area.  
  
"Maybe something can help me here," he thought, looking around. "Help me defeat Yugi and Bakura."  
  
"Bakura is easy…Yugi though, is another story," Came a low voice from behind him.  
  
  
  
Yami Taerro whipped around to see the shadowy outline of some person. The brown-ish white hair spiked up a bit, and his eyes were purple; purple with no pupil.  
  
"Who are you?" Yami Taerro demanded.  
  
"I? I am a spirit, a spirit created from darkness, anger, and sorrow in a boy's heart. I was banished here by Yugi when he defeated me," The odd spirit replied.  
  
"What was your host's name?" Yami Taerro snapped, hoping for some information on this man.  
  
"Malik Ishtar."  
  
*****  
  
"Guess who Yami Taerro found? Yami Malik!!"  
  
Things can only get worse from here…THREE evil spirits, and two working against each other. Anyway, please review! Next chapter up tomorrow morning!! 


	4. Chapter 4: The Trip

Chapter 4: The Trip  
  
Authoress Note: If this is the first story you've read that was written by me, you might be a little lost as to who Taerro and his Yami are. Taerro was a slightly geeky-type boy the gang met while at a tournament. ("The Right Prize, for the Right Person")  
  
His Yami is an evil spirit that was sealed away in ancient times by the ancient priests because his powers were becoming a threat to the people.  
  
The spirit was released when Taerro accidentally broke the artifact he was sealed inside. It lives inside of him, now that Yami Bakura freed him again to assist him in taking Yugi's puzzle, but the plan failed. ("Underhanded Tactics")  
  
Thanks for the reviews everyone, and on with the chapter!  
  
*****  
  
Chapter 4: The Trip  
  
"Malik Ishtar?" Yami Taerro asked, looking suspicious.   
  
During some of Yugi's long and boring talks with his friends, that name had cropped up a few times. From what Yami Taerro had overheard, he was an Egyptian boy who had held a grudge against Yugi and attempted to kill him and his friends.  
  
Malik obviously had a change of heart later on, and during his duel with Yugi, Yugi had destroyed the evil spirit Malik himself had created.  
  
"Why are YOU in the Shadow Realm? You don't have an item," Yami Malik said cooly.  
  
Yami Taerro stopped thinking and turned back to Yami Malik. He held out his arm and showed his bracelet.  
  
"I have the ability to drain certain powers from others," Taerro explained. "I drained shadow magic from a monster accidentally left in the real realm. Now I have access to several of the powers I've been wanting for some time; such as the ability to travel to the Shadow Realm."  
  
"Oh?" Yami Malik asked, pretending to be interested. "And why are you after Yugi and Bakura?"  
  
"Bakura because he's after me," Yami Taerro snapped, and explained about the Amusement Park episode.  
  
Yami Malik chuckled.  
  
"I never new Bakura could be so stupid," he muttered, shaking his head with a smile.  
  
"And I'm after Yugi for his puzzle," Yami Taerro finished. "Now, do how did you lose to Yugi?"  
  
Yami Malik smiled.  
  
"Why should I tell you?" he asked with an evil grin.  
  
Yami Taerro looked quite irritated. He turned to the Shadow Portal he had created in his trip to the Shadow Realm.  
  
"Forget it then," he snapped back. "I'm not going to make the same mistake as Bakura."  
  
Yami Taerro flew out of the portal, and Yami Malik in spirit form followed before the portal closed! Yami Malik watched Taerro walk home, and get into bed. The, he floated around the city, although, a spirit could cause no destruction.  
  
"Hmph," he muttered, looking around at the town square, evil in his eyes. "I need a host. A host that would be strong and good to control. I'll have to check around with Yugi's friends."  
  
An evil smile lit up on his face.  
  
"Yes, taking one of Yugi's friends away is the perfect start," he thought with a chuckle and floated off.  
  
*****  
  
The next morning, Yugi awoke early to the sound of a car horn blasting through his open window. Yugi's eyes snapped open and he bounded out of bed and over to the window before he was fully awake. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and then looked down in the driveway.  
  
Mai's shiny blue convertible was parked there, Mai, Joey, Serenity, and Bakura already sitting inside. The backseat was piled up with many suitcases and handbags, and Bakura had the honor of sitting in the back with it all.  
  
"What's up?" Yugi asked sleepily, putting on the Millennium Puzzle. (he always kept it close…even at night)  
  
Mai looked up at the open window where Yugi was standing. She honked the horn again.  
  
"Come on, Yugi!" she yelled up. "Get dressed, get your stuff, and let's go! We want to be there by one!"  
  
"Oh…" Yugi muttered, still trying to wake himself up. "Sure…sure…just a minute…"  
  
He shut the window, got dressed, and then lugged his suitcase downstairs. He stopped by the kitchen to say good-bye to his grandpa and mom, and then he lugged the bag outside and onto the pavement.  
  
"It's about time, Yug!" Joey said, hoping out of the car and bounding over to his friend to help him get the suitcase in back.  
  
"Watch it!" Bakura cried as Joey tossed the suitcase in, narrowly missing hitting Bakura's head as it flew by, and landed on the floor in front of Bakura's seat.  
  
"Sorry 'bout that," Joey said casually, getting back into the car. He turned around to face Yugi, who was getting in back and rearranging the suitcases so that there would be enough room for him to sit down as well.  
  
"Are we ready now?" Mai asked impatiently, tapping her foot on the gas pedal, gently.  
  
"Yeah," Joey replied.  
  
"No, not yet!" Yugi muttered, moving a purse aside to find his seatbelt holder. "Where IS it?"  
  
"Here we go!" Mai cried, switching the vehicle into reverse and having it speed out of the driveway and onto the busy road.   
  
As she took a sharp turn, Bakura and Yugi both crashed into a suitcase.  
  
"This is going to be a LONG ride," Bakura mumbled, trying to put the suitcases in a neat stack.  
  
Yugi nodded grimly.  
  
*****  
  
Seto and Mokuba were having a much quieter, and more enjoyable drive in their car. The chauffer did the driving, and they talked in the backseat.  
  
"Doesn't this sound wonderful, Ni-sama? (brother)" Mokuba asked excitedly, looking out the window at the scenery.  
  
"Mm," Seto nodded, staring down at his mini-lap top. "I suppose."  
  
"Well, it really makes it seem like summer vacation, right?" Mokuba asked, still excited.  
  
"Yes, a trip to the beach DOES make it seem a bit more like summer," he said kindly. "I'm glad I brought sun-screen though."  
  
Mokuba nodded and leaned back.  
  
Just a few more hours before the beach would be in sight.  
  
*****  
  
Meanwhile, Duke, Taerro, Tea, and Triston were all in Mr. Taylor's car. His car was big, it had a roof, the baggage was in the trunk, but that was about all that was good about it. Mr. Taylor played the radio on the most boring station (or at least boring to 4 teens) and kept talking about "old" things like old ice cream parlors, and old fashioned radio stations, and a bunch of other things that were not interesting, especially the way he talked about them.  
  
Tea covered her ears and leaned over to talk to Triston, who was beside her.  
  
"Does he ALWAYS do this in the car?!" she asked irritably.  
  
Triston sighed.  
  
"Only on long trips," he muttered, staring out the window.  
  
In the back, Yami Taerro pulled out a pad of paper and pretended to be doodling, but he was really making plans; plans to defeat Yami Bakura; plans to defeat Yugi…  
  
Duke was playing a Game Boy game of some sort, and looked to immersed in it to care much what Mr. Taylor was saying. (Probably a lucky thing, too)  
  
Triston sighed.  
  
"Are we there yet?" he asked.  
  
"Yep!" Mr. Taylor said, stopping the car.  
  
"We are?" Triston asked, stunned, as he rubbed his eyes and looked out the window. His eyes narrowed. "We're at the gas station," he muttered, getting out.  
  
"Ooh, my legs," Tea muttered, flexing them so that they would wake up. "The feel horrible."  
  
Taerro got out of the car and walked over by Triston. Duke, however, was still so wrapped up in the game that he didn't even notice they'd stopped.  
  
"You kids go in and get a drink or something," Mr. Taylor announced as he refueled.  
  
Triston nodded.  
  
"Just leave him," he told Tea, who was about to knock on Duke's window. "We've got the windows down. We'll get him a drink too."  
  
Tea shrugged.  
  
"Okay," she replied, staggering after Triston, still trying to get her legs warmed up.  
  
*****  
  
It was around 1:30 when everyone finally arrived at the hotel they would be staying at. Seto and Mokuba looked fairly happy, Mai looked exhausted, and her hair was wild-looking after having blown in the wind for 5 hours straight.   
  
Mr. Taylor's gang didn't look tired, they all, with the exception of Duke, who probably would have been just as happy staying in the car and playing video games, looked like they were quite ready to get out of the vehicle and do something else.  
  
Yugi and Bakura, soar from the ride, climbed out of the backseat and collapsed on the end of the sidewalk. Mai walked over to them.   
  
"Come on now, boys," Mai said kindly, pointing to the luggage. "You've got to help us out here."  
  
Yugi and Bakura groaned, but stood up.  
  
Seto and Mokuba easily got their own luggage out, (unlike Mai, they each only had one suitcase. Mai had brought four) and were already on their way inside the hotel.  
  
Triston and Tea followed, carrying their luggage as well, and Taerro dragged Duke out of the car and shut off the Game Boy.  
  
"Aww…I was on level 21!" Duke cried, tucking the game into his pocket before picking up his bag off of the cement. (Mr. Taylor was unloading the trunk for them)  
  
"Good. Maybe you'll get there again next time," Yami Taerro snapped, feeling to irritated to play Taerro's role very well.  
  
Duke shrugged as he followed the line of people into the lobby. Mai was up at the counter, pointing out the group that was hers and arranging the rooms. Tea was reading a tourists magazine and Triston and Joey were over by the vending machine.  
  
Duke passed Seto and Mokuba, who were looking at the fish tank on display, as he walked over to join Joey and Triston. (Serenity was beside Joey)  
  
  
  
"Hey!" he said, walking over, waving.  
  
Meanwhile, Yami Malik's spirit flew into the room and looked around. He saw a few familiar faces from his experience on the battle ship with Yugi's friends, and, of course, recognized Taerro from their introduction the evening before.  
  
"Hmmm, I guess I'll just try them out," he thought, flying down and taking control of Duke's body as he walked by a cart filled with buckets of ice from the ice machine.  
  
Duke was in the middle of a step, and when Yami Malik took control, he lost his balance and spun around. The room whirled around as he tried to regain balance.  
  
"Look out, Duke!" Serenity shrieked as he tipped over and crashed right into the ice cart.  
  
*****  
  
End of Chapter 4  
  
Oohh! He's in trouble. BOTH of them. (I mean, Duke and Yami Malik)  
  
"Anyway, please review, as always, and thanks so much for the reviews so far!" 


	5. Chapter 5: An Unsual Event

Chapter 5: Unusual Events…  
  
Note: For all of you who thought Duke was a bad choice, you were right. Yami Malik just said he was testing people out.   
  
"Yes…even I don't know who his choice is yet."  
  
I do though!  
  
*****  
  
Chapter 5:  
  
The cart tipped over, spreading the ice cubes all over the lobby floor. Yami Malik, in Duke's body, fell over the tipped cart and landed in the middle of a puddle of ice water on the carpet. Several people cried out, and stopped what they were doing as ice cubes slid across the floor at them.  
  
"Duke?" Yugi cried, dropping his bags at the front door and rushing over to his friend.  
  
"This body is useless to me," Yami Malik grumbled, exiting Duke's body, letting the confused teen take control again.  
  
Duke, dazed, looked around and rubbed his chest where it had hit the cart as he stood up.  
  
"Whoa!" he cried, slipping on an ice cube, but regaining his balance.  
  
Tea grabbed his arm as she hurried over.  
  
"Duke, what were you doing?" she asked.  
  
"I…don't remember…" he muttered, looking around. "I thought I was walking over to the vending machines…"  
  
Yami Malik looked down at Duke and Tea angrily.  
  
"There must be a better host out there," he thought to himself.  
  
Suddenly, Yugi's Millennium Puzzle began to glow. Yami Bakura took over Bakura and the Millennium Ring began to glow, and Yami Taerro's bracelet began to glow as well. They all looked to the center of the room, where Duke and Tea were.  
  
"No!" Yami Malik thought, not wanting to be destroyed before he had time to build his powers, and he zoomed out a window.  
  
Yami Yugi stared at the center of the room for a few minutes, then turned back toward Duke.'  
  
By now, Triston and Joey were over there, and an employee from the hotel was cleaning up the ice mess. Duke was starting to get upset.  
  
"I didn't trip into a cart! I would remember!" he cried.  
  
Triston slung his arm around Duke's shoulder, playfully.  
  
"And that, folks, is what 5 hours straight of Game Boy will do to you," he said with a grin.  
  
Duke pushed off his arm.  
  
"But I…" Duke protested, but decided against it.  
  
Maybe his eyes were just weird now, after being glued to the little screen for too long.  
  
"Are you okay, Duke?" Yugi asked, walking over, still curious about what made Yami stop like that.  
  
"Yeah…yeah I'm fine," Duke said backing away from the mess.  
  
Mokuba shook his head from where he and Seto were watching.  
  
"Gee, I guess everyone's pretty out of it today, huh?" he asked his brother.  
  
"Well, at least they are," Seto replied with a sigh as Mai came back from the counter with several room cards.  
  
"Okay!" she called, holding them up and waving them.  
  
"Yami?" Yugi asked, spiritually, so not to interrupt Mai.  
  
Yami appeared beside his partner.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Why did you suddenly look over in the center of the room, a few minutes ago, like that?" Yugi asked curiously.  
  
Yami sighed.  
  
"I sensed a dark force," he said, looking straight forward, to avoid Yugi's eyes.  
  
Yugi's eyes got big.  
  
"A dark force? From who?" Yugi demanded to know.  
  
Yami sighed.  
  
"Duke. But I can't sense it anymore," he sighed.  
  
Yugi looked suspiciously over at Duke. He DID just trip into a cart, something Duke didn't normally do.  
  
"Maybe we should keep an eye on him," Yugi said to his Yami.  
  
Yami smiled.  
  
"Thank you," he replied. "And be cautious. I don't want anyone to get hurt."  
  
Yugi nodded and Yami vanished.  
  
"Earth to Yugi!" Mai called, waving a card in front of him.  
  
"Oh!" Yugi jumped. "I'm….sorry…" he mumbled, taking the card from her.  
  
"As I was saying, we have 4 rooms. One for the girls, one for Kaiba and Mokuba, one for Bakura, Taerro, and Triston, and one for you, Joey, and Duke. Here's the card to your room, Yugi," she said, pointing to it.  
  
Yugi nodded, feeling foolish, but lucky. If he shared a room with Duke, he could easily keep an eye on him.  
  
Mai stretched again.  
  
"Okay, kids," she ordered, pointing to the elevator. "Why don't we unpack and then meet back at the pool in twenty minutes."  
  
"The pool?!" Joey cried happily. "All right!! Come on guys!" he cried, grabbing Yugi and Duke's arms and tugging them into the elevator.  
  
"Will you go swimming, Ni-sama?" Mokuba asked as they started up the stairs, although he already knew the answer.  
  
Seto shrugged.  
  
"Why not?" he asked, surprising Mokuba.  
  
"Yay!" Mokuba cheered, running ahead to get upstairs faster.  
  
*****  
  
Yami Bakura was unpacking his clothes with Triston and Taerro, although he kept looking up at Taerro suspiciously. The innocent outer-appearance didn't fool him. He knew that Yami Taerro was still possessing Taerro…and also that it was most likely him that he was sensing in the lobby.  
  
"…did you see the look on Duke's face when he tripped into that ice cart?" Triston was asking cheerily, unaware two evil spirits, one ready for revenge, were beside him.  
  
"I'm going to get that Taerro, and put him back in that bracelet!" Yami Bakura mumbled to himself. "If only that jerk wasn't here." He looked up at Triston.  
  
"Triston?" he asked in Bakura's innocent voice. "Could you please go get…some ice or something?"  
  
Triston looked up.  
  
"Ice?" he asked suspiciously. "What for?"  
  
"Oh…I mean, could you get a soda for me?" he asked, pulling out 5 dollars and handing them to Triston.   
  
Triston looked at the money strangely.  
  
"Isn't this a bit much for just a soda?" he asked with a hint of laughter in his voice.  
  
Yami Bakura scowled.  
  
"I don't know how to count modern money," he thought angrily. "Just keep the change. My mistake!" Bakura said airily.  
  
Triston shrugged.  
  
"Okay!" he called, walking toward the door.  
  
"I'll go with you!" Taerro cried, running after him, not wanting to be confronted by Yami Bakura just yet…  
  
Yami Bakura scowled.  
  
*****  
  
It was close to 3:30 when the gang finally got outside to the pool. Mai insisted on eating lunch at a fast-food place and then Tea prevented everyone from swimming for 45 minutes after that. But it was nice, swimming when no one else was, in the early evening.  
  
The yellow-orange sun hung low in the sky as the gang splashed around in the pool.  
  
  
  
Joey and Yugi were racing, Duke and Triston were watching, Serenity, Mai, and Tea were on floats, and Mokuba was playing with a beach ball, trying to engage Bakura and Taerro in the game. (Neither of the evil spirits felt much like being in the pool, much less playing with an eleven-year old boy.)  
  
Seto was sort of playing with Mokuba, sort of just standing there.  
  
"And Yugi wins the race!" Duke declared with a shout.  
  
  
  
Yugi, catching his breath, pulled himself up onto the pavement.  
  
"Aw man!" Joey sighed as he reached the edge of the pool. "Why do you always win?"  
  
"Because he's smaller and faster," Seto explained, bluntly. "And he doesn't waste time with fancy moves."  
  
Joey started to turn red. True, he had been trying to impress Serenity and Mai, but why did he have to go and point out his mistakes?  
  
Joey turned even redder.  
  
"I asked," he grumbled, getting out of the pool and grabbing a towel.  
  
"Joey…" Yugi asked as Joey walked over to a beach chair and sat down.  
  
"I'm just working on the tan," he said calmly, putting on some sunglasses.  
  
Yugi shrugged and dove back into the water.  
  
"Okay!" he called.  
  
Mokuba popped up from retrieving a water toy down at the floor. He rubbed his eyes.  
  
  
  
"I hate chlorine," he muttered, trying to stop the stinging.  
  
"Didn't you bring goggles?" Seto asked his brother as Duke playfully splashed Bakura. (Yami Bakura didn't look to appreciative.)  
  
Mokuba nodded.  
  
"Yeah, but I left them up in our room!" he sighed.  
  
Seto started to get out.  
  
"Where are you going?" Mokuba asked as he brother grabbed a towel.  
  
"I'll get them for you," he said, walking up the stairs to the building. "I'll be right back."  
  
"Thanks, Ni-sama!" he called.  
  
*****  
  
5 minutes later, Seto was up in the room, fishing through Mokuba's things for the goggles. Yami Malik watched him from overhead.  
  
"The high priest," he thought. "Maybe he would make for an appropriate host. He DOES have a connection to the Millennium Rod…the one I used to own."  
  
Seto turned around. Something didn't feel right…but he couldn't quite put a finger on what.  
  
"Well, why not?" Yami Malik asked, making sure no ice carts were around, and then possessing Seto.  
  
"What the…" Seto cried as suddenly he felt someone else talking….to him almost.  
  
"Thanks for the body, hikari," Yami Malik said with a chuckled, trying to take control of Seto.  
  
  
  
"WHAT?!" Seto cried, looking around. Who was speaking to him?  
  
Seto clutched his head, thinking.  
  
"Who are you…and what do you want?" he asked in a loud voice, trying desperately to keep whatever it was away.  
  
"You are now my host…!" Yami Malik whispered, and despite Seto's efforts to stay in control, he took over the body.  
  
"Yes!" he cried happily, looking at his new host with his evil eyes. "Now to regain my powers and destroy Yugi!"  
  
*****  
  
"Seto? That's a bad choice too. Yami Malik could hardly get in control once. Or is he even going to stick with Seto?"  
  
Yami Malik…never mind. You'll just have to read the next chapter to find out!  
  
Review for now and thanks for reading! 


	6. Chapter 6: Possessed

Chapter 6: Possessed  
  
Note: Thanks for the reviews, everyone! Oh, and there may be a tiny spoiler in here. (Yami Malik does one thing to Seto that was similar to what he does to hikari-Malik in the series.) And although I won't explain it WHY she is so upset, because if you know, than you should figure it out, but there could be a spoiler with Mai and Yami Malik. (I'll mark where it starts…although it doesn't go far.)  
  
  
  
Also: ** indicates a small spoiler, but a line that can be skipped and not effect the story.  
  
Yami Malik stepped back and admired his new host-body in the mirror. He looked exactly like Seto,w ith the exception of the eyes; Yami Malik's eyes in Seto's body were all blue with no pupil.  
  
"Hmm," he murmured, looking around the room. "This is going to be quite a useful body."  
  
He changed back into one of Seto's black outfits with a purple coat and then marched back downstairs and out the door. He was passing the pool-yard when a little voice called out to him.  
  
  
  
"There you are, Ni-sama!" Mokuba called, waving, from the little float he was clinging to. "Ni-sama!"  
  
The words penetrated through Seto's body and reached his spirit. He took control of the body and staggered backward in surprise.  
  
"What am I doing?" he asked, looking around, then he saw his little brother.  
  
"Mokuba," he asked, walking forward, when Yami Malik took over once more.  
  
Yugi suddenly saw the Millennium Puzzle glowing from where it was lying beside Joey's chair on a table. Yami Taerro (who could never remove the bracelet, for fear of damaging it) looked down at his bracelet, which was glowing a very bright blue.  
  
Yami Bakura looked over at where the strange force was coming from, and saw Seto, standing there with a maniac grin on his face.  
  
"Ni-sama!" Mokuba called, wondering why his brother had stopped like that.  
  
"Leave me alone!" Seto cried to Yami Malik, angrily.  
  
Yami Malik was beginning to get irritated.  
  
"Who ever knew a hikari could be so strong," he muttered angrily as he fought for control once more. "Well, no matter."  
  
**Suddenly, there was a loud snap, and Seto found himself, (spiritually) inside a large, glass pyramid.  
  
"That should hold you," Yami Malik chuckled as the glass pyramid vanished and he took over the body with ease.  
  
Seto pounded on the glass, but it was no use. He couldn't escape. But he'd caught a glimpse of who was trying to take him over.  
  
"It was Malik," he thought to himself. **"The Malik that Yugi supposedly killed off at the end of my Battle City tournament."  
  
Seto sighed and pressed his forehead up against the glass, remembering what had happened to Joey and Mai when they ran into Yami Malik's path. He hoped that someone would stop him, before someone like Mokuba got hurt.  
  
"Hey! Kaiba!" Mai called, waving at Seto from her float. "Why did you get dressed already? I thought you were going to come back and swim!"  
  
Yugi hurried over to the table, pulled the puzzle's chain over his neck and let Yami take over. Yami looked around for a minute, then realized where the evil presence was coming from this time. Seto Kaiba!  
  
"Kaiba?" Yami asked.  
  
"And you didn't find the goggles, Ni-sama," Mokuba pointed out, getting out of the pool and toweling off.  
  
"Goggles?" Yami Malik asked curiously. Then he laughed. (Yami Malik never has any intention of hiding behind his host's identity. At least not in this story.)  
  
Mokuba opened the gate that separated the pool from the rest of the land and the beach belonging to the hotel and ran over to his brother.  
  
"Yeah, don't you remember?" Mokuba asked.  
  
Yami Malik laughed again and Mokuba took a few steps backward.  
  
"Are you all right, Ni-sama?" he asked nervously.  
  
Yami Malik stopped laughing and turned his evil eyes to Mokuba. He grinned terribly, which made the little boy back up even more.  
  
Yami Bakura got out of the pool, and held the Millennium Ring out, hidden from the other's view by his towel.  
  
"Show me the evil presence here besides myself and Taerro," Yami Bakura hissed at the ring, and two of the ring's 5 pointers pointed straight at Seto's body.  
  
"Seto Kaiba?" he asked suspiciously.  
  
"Ni-sama?" Mokuba cried.  
  
"I'm not your Ni-sama," Yami Malik snapped evilly.  
  
"What's wrong with you!" Mokuba demanded.  
  
"Mokuba! Get away from there!" Yami cried, running toward the fence, but Mokuba didn't listen.  
  
"Ni-sama!" he repeated. "What's the matter?"  
  
"What's wrong is that your Ni-sama isn't here anymore," Yami Malik whispered to the boy. "He is sealed away, and I am the controller of his body."  
  
Mokuba's eyes widened in shock.  
  
"Well then, get out and let him come back!" he cried, but Yami Malik grabbed his arm and tugged him over to the spot were there was a shallow collection of water and many rocks near the ocean.  
  
  
  
"Hey! Let me go!" Mokuba cried as he struggled to get out of Yami Malik's tight grip.  
  
"What is Kaiba doing to his brother?" Mai cried as she and Serenity got out of the pool and hurried over to the bunch of towels and grabbed one each. "Someone is going to get hurt."  
  
"That's not Kaiba," Yami declared as Duke and Triston hopped over the fence to get to Mokuba.  
  
"Not Kaiba? What're you saying Yug?" Joey cried as everyone hurried over to Mokuba and Seto's body now.  
  
"He's possessed by some sort of evil….but it seems so familiar," Yami muttered as they all stopped a few feet from where Mokuba and Yami Malik were standing.  
  
"Release him!" Yami declared angrily, pointing at Seto's body.  
  
Yami Malik laughed and Mai's hair stood on end.  
  
"It's…It can't be!" she cried, highly upset as she backed away from Seto's body and the others.  
  
"It can't be what, Mai?" Joey asked kindly, taking her hand. (She was too upset to care)  
  
"It's…him!" she cried, terrified.  
  
Him?  
  
"Could it be…" Yami thought, shocked, then looked back up at Seto.  
  
  
  
"Remember me, Yugi?" Yami Malik asked with a hint of tease in his voice. "You should, as I was the cause of much pain for you. **And for the woman."  
  
"You! It's Malik's dark side!" Joey cried angrily, his hands forming into fists. (Mai was clinging to him)  
  
Yami Malik laughed and let go of Mokuba's hand. Mokuba staggered backward but managed to stay away from the little pool.  
  
"Leave my brother alone!" he cried, upset.  
  
Yami Bakura ran up to join the others.  
  
"Who is it?" Yami Bakura said in Bakura's innocent voice.  
  
"It's…at least we THINK it is…Yami Malik," Yami explained.  
  
Bakura gasped.  
  
"Oh no!" he cried.  
  
Inwardly, however, he was angry.  
  
"How did he escape the Shadow Realm?" Yami Bakura thought to himself.   
  
His eyes wandered over to Taerro, who was looking quite shocked at the whole matter.  
  
"He!" Yami Bakura thought.  
  
"Yugi," Yami Malik said, low and evilly. "You may have sent me to the Shadow Realm, but you cannot strip me of the powers I possess. Though without the rod I can not longer take over other's minds, but I still have other Shadow Abilities!"  
  
He flung out his hands and everyone flew backward, hitting each other and the ground painfully. When everyone looked up, Seto Kaiba's body was gone.  
  
"Where did he go?!" Tea cried, looking around nervously. She didn't like the thought of having a maniac on the lose.  
  
"I saw him hop on a truck down by the rode!" Duke cried, pointing as the light turned green and the truck with Yami Malik in back zoomed around a corner.  
  
"Why is that guy in my Ni-sama?" Mokuba cried, leaping to his feet. "We have to go after him!"  
  
Yugi nodded and everyone ran down to the parking lot. Mai's convertible was parked next to Triston's father's car. Mai hopped in the front seat and attempted to put the key in the ignition, but kept missing. Her hands were shaking nervously.  
  
"Mai," Joey said kindly, taking the keys from her. "I think you shouldn't be driving."  
  
She snatched them back.  
  
  
  
"I'm FINE Joey," she snapped, trying to put them in.  
  
"Mai, we'll just get another driver," Tea said, trying to get Duke off of her lap. (There wasn't enough room for Triston, Bakura, and Taerro. Mokuba was squished in front with Joey and Serenity and Tea, Yugi, and Duke were in the back.)  
  
"Like who?" she snapped.  
  
Triston sighed.  
  
"Please don't tell me you mean my dad!" he cried.  
  
"Who else is there aside from Kaiba's chauffer?" Tea snapped in reply. "And he went somewhere else!"  
  
"Let me drive!" Duke volunteered.  
  
"You?" Mai asked, turning around. "Do you even have a license?"  
  
Duke reached into his pocket and pulled out a shiny card bearing his name.  
  
"Yep," he replied, switching places with Mai. "I've had it for about 2 weeks now…but I haven't done much driving."  
  
"I feel so reassured," Mai sighed, sitting down.  
  
"On second thought, I'd feel safer with Mai driving," Joey said as Duke started up the engine.  
  
"Oh, my poor car," Mai thought as Duke pressed the accelerator and they zoomed out of the parking space.  
  
"Let's go, Duke!" Yugi cheered.  
  
Duke switched gears and they sped off down the beach roads.  
  
  
  
"Hurry up!" Mokuba cried. "We have to find my Ni-sama!"  
  
"Don't worry, we will!" Tea cried over the roar of the engine and the wind as they flew down the streets.  
  
"Slow down!" Mai cried.  
  
"You didn't stop at the stop sign!" Yugi called.  
  
"Stop back-seat driving!" Duke yelled back as he took a turn too sharply. "I'm doing fine!"  
  
"Sure he is," Joey muttered.  
  
"NO TALKING!" Duke yelled at Joey.  
  
Joey made a face.  
  
A few minutes went by during which time everyone looked around for the truck Yami Malik was in. Then, without warning, Duke suddenly slammed on the brakes and the car began to skid.  
  
Everyone in back screamed as Duke lost control of the car and it left the road in a out-of-control manner and headed straight for a tree near the road.  
  
*****  
  
End of Chapter 6.  
  
"AHH! WHO LET DUKE DRIVE THE CAR?!!" -Red Archery Girl  
  
Uh…they did? Anyway, review please! Next chapter up soon! 


	7. Chapter 7: Around the Town

Chapter 7: All around the Town  
  
"Duke!" Mai screamed as the car skidded off the road and headed straight for a tree beside the road.  
  
"We're going to crash!" Serenity shrieked, covering her eyes were her hands and leaning on Joey, beside her.  
  
Duke pulled the steering wheeled hard to the left and at the last minute pulled out of the way of the tree and kept going harmlessly into a field. When the car finally slowed to a stop, everyone looked very shaken up.  
  
"That was TERRIFYING!" Mai shrieked, getting her voice back from the experience.  
  
"Sorry?" Duke tried, opening the door and getting out.  
  
"What are you doing?" Yugi asked, getting out at well.  
  
Duke lifted the hood up.  
  
"I'm going to see if there's anything wrong with the car," he whispered, not wanting Mai to overhear.  
  
Yugi nodded, then leaned back on the car, relieved.  
  
"Duke, what the heck were you doing?" Joey demanded, getting out and walking over to Duke angrily.  
  
Duke turned red and continued pretending to check the gears and gadgets under the hood, even though it was all perfectly normal.  
  
  
  
"Well?" Joey tapped his foot impatiently.  
  
"There was a cat in the middle of the road," Duke admitted, blushing.  
  
"And you nearly killed us all for some cat?!" Joey screamed.  
  
Duke slammed the hood shut and got back in the car.  
  
"I couldn't let it get run over," Duke protested.  
  
Mai stood up and got out of the back seat.  
  
"I'm driving now," she said to Duke and opened the front door to let him out and let herself in.  
  
Duke sadly got in the backseat next to Yugi, Mokuba, and Tea and sat down. Tea patted his shoulder.  
  
"It's okay, Duke," Tea said comfortingly. "I wouldn't have run over the cat either."  
  
"Yeah," Yugi nodded as Mai started up the car and began driving out of the field and back to the road. "Except it'll be a few years before my legs are long enough to reach the pedals."  
  
That make Duke laugh, which was just what Yugi was aiming for.  
  
"Come on!" Mokuba cried. "Let's find my brother's body and get that jerk out of it!"  
  
"Any sign of that truck?" Mai asked, keeping her eyes glued to the road, not wanting to make a similar mistake as Duke.  
  
"No…" Tea muttered, looking around. "Where could he have gone?"  
  
Yugi thought for a moment.  
  
"Where do evil spirits in possessed bodies like to go to hang out?" he thought to himself.  
  
"Maybe he went to the local evil-spirit-on-the-lose convention," Joey cracked as Mai turned a corner.  
  
Mai would have smacked him, but she had both hands on the steering wheel.  
  
"That's not funny Joey," she said calmly. "Tea? Smack him, will you?"  
  
"Ah! No!" Joey cried, ducking out from under her reach.  
  
"Then quit making jokes!" Tea snapped.  
  
"Fine, fine," Joey mumbled.  
  
The car kept going down the darkening road for a few minutes when Yugi suddenly stood up in the backseat to see into a restaurant.  
  
"Oh no!" he cried, pointing inside.  
  
"What's wrong?" Tea asked, looking up at her friend, her hair blowing in the wind.  
  
"SIT DOWN!" Mai shrieked when she realized Yugi was standing up.  
  
"Yami Malik is in that Bowling Alley!!"  
  
*****  
  
Bakura, Taerro, and Triston sat on their beds, bored. Yami Bakura was still looking for a way to get Yami Taerro alone so he could finish him off. Triston had no idea of the two spirit's conflict and was just fishing through his deck.  
  
"Um…anyone want to duel?" he asked, holding up his deck.  
  
"Me duel with that beginner. Ha," Yami Bakura thought, brushing the thought aside.  
  
"Sure," Yami Taerro agreed, pulling out his Gravity Bind deck.  
  
Triston slid off his bed and set up a dueling mat on the floor.  
  
"I'm afraid we haven't got any hologram stadiums, so we'll just have to have an ordinary duel," Triston explained, setting up another mat for Taerro.  
  
"No problems there," Yami Taerro replied, pulling out his deck.  
  
Yami Bakura rolled over to face the duel and narrowed his eyes at Taerro. Soon, Taerro would have to be alone; separated from the gang. Then, then Yami Bakura would defeat him and make him pay for his betrayal.  
  
*****  
  
"The bowling alley? Are you sure?" Mai asked, parking the car in the lot next to the bowling alley.   
  
The 7 of them got out of the vehicle and walked toward the door. Rock 'N Roll music was coming from inside, but there was no screaming and crashing…yet.  
  
"I saw Kaiba's body walking in the door!" Yugi declared, looking nervous as they opened the front door and walked inside. "He's in here…somewhere…" he added, looking around at the jam-packed alley and arcade.  
  
"May I help you?" A lady at the front desk asked as the teens and Mokuba walked inside.  
  
"Ni-sama?" Mokuba called, running off.  
  
"Uh…no," Mai replied. "We're just looking for a friend of ours."  
  
"Okay then," The lady replied, turning back to her computer files.  
  
"Go after Mokuba and make sure he doesn't meet up with Yami Malik," Yugi instructed Duke. "Joey and I can check the restrooms and Mai, Serenity, and Tea can go to the arcade."  
  
Everyone nodded and split up.  
  
Yugi and Joey walked over to the restrooms and opened the door. Inside it was very neat and tidy, unlike many restrooms commonly found around. However, no one was inside.  
  
"Let's check the stalls just to be sure," Yugi said and he and Joey began searching.  
  
Outside, Mokuba and Duke were running down the middle of the floor, looking at each group of bowlers for any sign of Seto's body.  
  
"Ni-sama!" Mokuba cried, upset. "Where are you?"  
  
"Shush, it isn't your brother we're looking for, it's Yami Malik," Duke reminded him, and he also didn't want to draw attention to the boy. Mokuba was quite helpless, while not only was Yami Malik in Seto's strong body, he also had powers….  
  
Tea and Serenity were looking around at the arcade games, moving past the crowds of people standing in line to play the games.   
  
"I don't see his body," Serenity said softly to Tea.  
  
Tea nodded, and turned a corner near the race-car games. Behind the game, Yami Malik looked out at the two.  
  
"Innocent victims," he thought, looking at everyone in the room. "Perfect to exercise my powers and unleash my wrath!"  
  
He jumped out on top of one racing game where a young boy was handling the steering wheel, his father playing with a Claw Machine behind him.  
  
The boy laughed happily.  
  
"Daddy! I'm on lap 2!" he cried, looking back at his father who was immersed his own game.  
  
"Good, son! Keep up the great driving!" he replied, not looking back, for if he had, he would have seen Seto Kaiba's body climb up to the top of the game.  
  
The little boy turned back around, and noticed Yami Malik standing on top of the game. He screamed as Yami Malik dropped down off the game and grabbed him.  
  
Tea and Serenity turned around to see the little boy in the clutches of Yami Malik.  
  
"Daddy!" he screamed.  
  
"That poor boy!" Serenity cried as Mai pushed another teen out of the way and hurried up to them.  
  
"We've got to stop that maniac!" Mai cried, remembering the terrible things Yami Malik had done.  
  
Tea rushed forward and smacked Yami Malik's hand, causing him to drop the boy on the ground.  
  
"Louis!" The boy's father cried, grabbing his son's hand and yanking him away.  
  
Yami Malik angrily turned to Tea as people began to notice the attack beginning and started to flee from the arcade.  
  
Duke and Mokuba caught a glimpse of crowds of people running out of the arcade.  
  
"What do you bet our man's in there?" Duke asked, running for the arcade, holding Mokuba's hand so that he wouldn't get lost.  
  
"Ni-sama!" Mokuba whispered.  
  
The two ran into the arcade where they saw Tea backing slowly up as Yami Malik advanced on her.  
  
"Foolish ona (woman)," he growled as he came closer, his evil eyes, so unlike Seto's, bearing into her. "You will pay."  
  
  
  
Mai and Serenity were near the wall, Serenity scared, and Mai in a panic. She feared Yami Malik above all people, but Tea needed her help. She couldn't let Tea suffer the same way she had no matter how afraid she was.  
  
Mai ripped on of the plastic guns off of one of the games, rushed forward and raised it up.  
  
"Sorry, Kaiba!" she cried, bringing in down on Yami Malik's head, knocking him over.  
  
Mai grabbed Tea's hand and she and Serenity ran into Duke and Mokuba at the door.  
  
"Is my brother in there?" Mokuba asked.  
  
There was a breaking noise from inside. (Yami Malik had overturned a game)  
  
"His body is at least!" Mai cried, gesturing for the others to follow her. "Come on!"  
  
The 5 ran back into the alley, where games were continuing normally. Yugi and Joey ran up to them.  
  
"What happened? Did you find him?" Yugi asked breathlessly.  
  
"We sure did," Duke cried, looking behind him. "And his about to find us!"  
  
Yami Malik walked, forward and up to a bowling ball holder. He picked up one of the balls and took aim. Then, he rolled it right at Yugi!  
  
"RUN!" Yugi cried as Yami Malik overturned the entire cart of balls, sending them everywhere, tripping people and letting stray balls run down the alleys and hit the pins.  
  
"STRIKE!" A computer called, flashing an X up as one stray ball knocked down all the pins at once.  
  
"Who cares?" Duke cried as he ran up an alley to avoid a ball.  
  
"EVERYONE! GET OUT OF HERE!" Joey yelled at the people, who had already gotten a similar idea and were heading in flocks toward the door.  
  
Mokuba tried to avoid a ball by running up an alley as Duke had, but he slipped on the slick floor and found himself hurtling toward the pins. He grabbed onto the gutter and let the ball pass by him as he slowed to a stop before reaching the end.  
  
"Come on!" Serenity cried, grabbing Mokuba's hand and helping him up.   
  
The two ran up to the middle of the chaotic bowling alley where the others were standing.  
  
"Where is he?" Yugi asked.  
  
"He went out the door!" Mai cried, running toward it.  
  
She opened the door and everyone hurried out into the warm evening air. They looked around for any sign of Seto's body.  
  
"There!" Mokuba cried, pointing at Yami Malik who was climbing up a hill.  
  
"He's going back toward the hotel!" Yugi exclaimed.  
  
Mai pulled out a cell-phone and dialed a number.  
  
"I'm calling the hotel to warn Triston, Bakura, and Taerro," she explained.  
  
"Good idea!" Yugi called as he and the others jumped in Mai's car.  
  
*****  
  
"And I believe, that ends the game and your Life points," Yami Taerro said smugly to Triston.  
  
"Aw…man!" Triston sighed, when the phone rang.  
  
He leaned over and picked it up.  
  
"Yo," he said coolly. "Hey Mai, what's wrong? Did you find Kaiba and Yami Malik?"  
  
Yami Bakura and Taerro's ears perked.  
  
"He's coming back toward the hotel?!" Triston gasped. "Well get back here soon!"  
  
"He's coming here?" Yami Bakura thought to himself, looking out the window.  
  
"Toward the hotel?" Yami Taerro though. "I could use him…"  
  
*****  
  
End of Chapter 7  
  
Please review and next chapter up soon! (probably this afternoon!)  
  
  
  
"And thanks for all your previous reviews!" 


	8. Chapter 8: Against Friend and Foe

Chapter 8: Against Friend and Foe  
  
"I need to go…get something!" Yami Taerro muttered, walking toward the door to their room and opening it.  
  
"I'll go with you," Yami Bakura added, running after his enemy.  
  
Yami Bakura left the door hanging open as he ran down the hallway. Triston blinked as he hung up the phone.  
  
  
  
"And I'll stay here." he shrugged, turning on the TV.  
  
****  
  
The two evil spirits ran silently down the hallway and stairs, each wanting to be the first to confront Yami Malik if he did come back to the hotel. The two opened the door and ran down the stairs to the cement outside the hotel.  
  
It was getting very dark outside, and hard to see. Yami Bakura, however, could see Yami Taerro beside him.  
  
"I have to lose this jerk," he thought, as they hurried by the pool.  
  
Yami Taerro, however, surprised him by giving him a hard shove and knocking him headlong into the dark pool, then continued running.  
  
Yami Bakura, sputtering, coughing, and spitting out water, resurfaced and glared at Yami Taerro.  
  
"You will pay," he hissed angrily, water dripping in his face and eyes as they narrowed on their next victim.  
  
******  
  
Yugi and the others were driving 10 miles above the speed limit in Mai's car as she hurried to find Yami Malik. The roads were crowded and filled with people doing who knew what on a summer evening. Mai's hair was whipping around as she turned a sharp corner.  
  
"He didn't get that much of a head-start on us, did he?" Joey asked, holding Serenity close. (She was still shaken up a bit about what had happened in the arcade.  
  
Duke shook his head.  
  
"No, but I'll bet he hitched another ride. This road leads straight by the hotel, and that's where Bakura, Triston, and that other kid are, totally unprotected," he replied grimly. "Let's step on it Mai!"  
  
"I'm doing 55 in a 45 mile per hour zone!" she snapped. "I'm not going any higher! I don't want a ticket!"  
  
Yugi sighed.  
  
Who ever knew Yami Malik could be so much trouble even without the Millennium Rod. But questions were now coming to him like crazy. The main one being how did Yami Malik escape the Shadow World?  
  
"I wonder that myself," Yami Yugi said, appearing beside his partner, spiritually.  
  
"I mean, he couldn't escape unless someone went there and either purposely or accidentally released him," Yugi determined. "But who was it who did it?"  
  
Yami was silent.  
  
"Yami, so many odd things have been happening lately. First the amusement park visit where those Shadow Monsters tried to kill us, and now Kaiba is possessed by Yami Malik!" Yugi cried, upset. "I think the two events are connected."  
  
  
  
Yami nodded.  
  
"I think so too," he replied as Mai turned another corner. Only a few more blocks until they'd reach the hotel.  
  
"But who is behind it? I have the rod and the necklace, so it can't be the real Malik Ishtar, or Ishizu," Yugi said.  
  
Yami nodded.  
  
"Shadi…I don't know about him," Yugi muttered, trailing off. "And then there's the missing Millennium eye, whoever stole that, and the Millennium Ring…"  
  
Yami looked up at his partner.  
  
"What did Bakura do with it?" Yami asked, urgently.  
  
Yugi shrugged.  
  
"He never said. He said when he woke up again one morning, it was gone," Yugi said, shaking his head. "I doubt Bakura has it."  
  
Yami stared out at the lights filling the city. The Shadow Realm. Something had just popped into his mind. The only known way to enter the Shadow Realm was by owning a Millennium Item…but what if there were other ways….ways for people like the banished spirit of Taerro's that Yami, or so he thought, defeated.  
  
Yami shook his head.  
  
Things were very confusing, and people were in trouble. Things were looking worse and worse every second.  
  
*****  
  
Meanwhile, Yami Malik, as expected, was approaching the hotel.  
  
He laughed maniacally as he climbed the hill and caught a glimpse of the hotel and the dark pool.  
  
"These people…so unaware…SO HELPLESS!" he cried with the same insane voice he had owned back at Battle City. **"They will become offerings to the darkness!"  
  
Suddenly, out of nowhere, someone came over and tackled Seto's body. Yami Malik and the attacker rolled down the hill and crashed into a tree. The two broke apart and each caught a glimpse of the other.  
  
"Oh? It's you," Yami Malik said with a hint of amusement in his voice when he realized who it was. It was Yami Taerro. "You should have never visited me. Now you will have to die like the others will."  
  
"I think not," Yami Taerro muttered with a grin, his bracelet glowing and surrounding Yami Malik or rather, Seto's body with the same blue-purple substance that he had used against the Spear Cretin. "With my magic, I will drain some of your Shadow Magic, increasing my own!!!"  
  
He laughed as Yami Malik struggled against the force.  
  
Then, a broad and evil grin spread over Yami Malik's face. He put his hands out and Yami Taerro flew backward, crashing into the chain-link fence, breaking the connection between the two.  
  
"Your Shadow Magic will be nothing compared to mine!" Yami Malik hissed evilly, approaching.   
  
Suddenly, a bright light from behind him blinded the two. Yami Malik turned around and shielded his eyes to see what the source was.  
  
It was Mai's convertible, pulling over to the edge of the road and parking. Everyone jumped out and looked around.  
  
"There he is!" Mokuba cried pointing to Yami Malik, who abruptly left Taerro and began to advance on the others.  
  
"Stay back, kid," Duke said, pushing Mokuba behind him to protect him.  
  
"Yugi…" Yami Malik hissed. "I will take my revenge on you…and put your friends where they should be."  
  
Joey and Mai both looked very scared at this. **Yami Malik's idea of "where someone should be" was trapped in their own nightmares, living out their deepest and darkest fears, as the two of them had experienced his evil.  
  
"You won't do that!" Tea cried as Yami took over and stepped forward to challenge the evil spirit.  
  
Serenity clutched her brother's arm, scared.  
  
  
  
"Onichan? Will Yugi win?" she asked nervously, watching the two.  
  
"Yugi is Yugi," Joey said. "He won't lose to some evil spirit."  
  
"Yami?" Yugi asked, appearing beside him.  
  
"Yes, partner?" Yami asked, looking at him quickly.  
  
"Since Yami Malik isn't playing by fair means, can't you use your Shadow Powers to…obliterate him like you did with Panic and the man who was framing Tea?" Yugi asked.  
  
Yami sighed and looked at Seto's possessed body.  
  
"I can, but I don't know if I should."  
  
"Why can't you?" Yugi asked as Yami Malik advanced.  
  
Yami looked tense.  
  
"If his and Seto's spirits are…too close, then I might accidentally…" He trailed off.  
  
Yugi looked at the ground. The last thing he wanted was to hurt Seto, but they had to stop him from hurting others.  
  
Yami Malik reached out his hand and Duke and Mokuba both levitated two feet off the ground.  
  
"Help!" Mokuba cried as he waved his legs around, trying to get down.  
  
"This is bad," Duke said sadly, as he looked down at a shocked Joey and Mai, and a terrified Serenity.  
  
"Duke!" she cried, upset.  
  
"Release them!" Yami cried angrily, marching forward.  
  
"Not another step, Yugi, or I really WILL release them. Just as they are," Yami Malik threatened, raising them up 5 feet in the air.  
  
Joey brushed Serenity aside and he and Mai stepped underneath Duke and Mokuba, just in case Yami Malik wasn't kidding.  
  
Yami was torn.  
  
"What should I do?" he asked.  
  
  
  
Yugi appeared again.  
  
"Yami, we have to try!" he cried. "He's only going to keep hurting people!"  
  
"Yugi!" Tea cried as she began to rise into the air as well.  
  
Yami snapped.  
  
"MIND CRUSH!" he screamed, thrusting his hand forward and in front of Yami Malik.  
  
There was a horrifying crack, like glass shattering, and yelling from nearly everyone present. (Taerro had disappeared, conveniently)  
  
Dust rose up from the ground, engulfing everyone. Tea, Mokuba, and Duke dropped, slowly, to the ground as Yami Malik vanished from the face of, at least, their realm.  
  
When the dust cleared, Mokuba stood up and rubbed his eyes, then looked around for his brother.  
  
"Ni-sama!" Mokuba cried, rushing over to his Seto's limp body which was lying on the ground a few feet from where Yami had mind crushed Yami Malik. His brother's eyes were closed.  
  
"Onichan!" Serenity cried hysterically as she stood up, and embraced her brother, nearly in tears.   
  
He hugged her back tenderly, then the two looked up and noticed Mokuba and Seto. Serenity gasped.  
  
  
  
"Onichan, is he all right?" she asked as they walked forward a few steps.  
  
Joey didn't reply.  
  
Mai helped Tea and Duke to their feet, and they watched as Yami let Yugi take over the body again, and he slowly walked over to join Mokuba.  
  
"Ni-sama, wake up!" Mokuba whispered, shaking his brother's shoulder gently.  
  
Yugi swallowed hard.  
  
"Do you think you...accidentally of course…" Yugi muttered to Yami.  
  
"I may have…" Yami said in a low voice.  
  
"Ni-sama?" Mokuba asked softly, taking his brother's hand into his own.  
  
Yugi stared down at Seto's life-less body. What would he do if his mind had been crushed?  
  
*****  
  
*Sob*  
  
"You wrote this chapter!"  
  
I know, but it's a cliff-hanging and sort of sad ending. But never-fear! Next chapter up soon everyone!  
  
"Review for now! Argato!" 


	9. Chapter 9: Precious Golden Times

Chapter 9: Precious Golden Times  
  
Notes: Kurama: I assume Duke has his license as in a later Japanese episode he is seen driving a car.  
  
Also: A character of mine will make a reappearance in this chapter. ;)  
  
*****  
  
Chapter Nine: Precious Golden Times (And maybe amber too…)  
  
"Ni-sama," Mokuba whispered again, looking down at his brother. "What's wrong? Please wake up."  
  
"Mokuba," Yugi started, walking forward but stopped. He didn't have the heart to tell Mokuba what might have happened to his brother.  
  
Mokuba's eyes started to fill with tears. Why wasn't his brother waking up? What was wrong? Had Yugi done something to him too?  
  
  
  
"Yugi…" Joey started, leaning closer to Yugi so Mokuba wouldn't hear him. "Did you…?"  
  
Yugi shook his head.  
  
"I don't know," he replied sadly.  
  
Mokuba tightened his grip around his brother's hand and shut his eyes, letting a tear-drop fall and hit Seto's cheek.  
  
"Ni-sama," he whispered, his voice choked. "You have to wake up. You can't be…" His voice broke and he didn't finish his sentence.  
  
Serenity hugged her own brother tightly, and Joey patted her head comfortingly. Yugi slumped down, sadly.  
  
A few minutes passed with no one speaking. Then, Mokuba felt Seto's hand squeeze his back. Mokuba opened his watery eyes and looked down at his brother.  
  
Seto's eyes slowly opened and he looked up at Mokuba.  
  
"Ni-sama!" Mokuba cried happily. "You're okay!"  
  
Seto rubbed his head and started to sit up.  
  
"Wha…what's is going on here?" he asked, confused.  
  
Mokuba knocked him back over as he hugged him tightly. Seto hugged Mokuba back, although he felt awkward on the ground with Yugi and everyone else watching.  
  
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
"Don't worry Yami, everyone's okay!" Yugi told his spirit friend, relieved. "Kaiba's okay, too."  
  
"I'm glad," Yami replied.  
  
"You're all right, Ni-sama!" Mokuba sobbed through his tears. "I thought you were…"  
  
  
  
"Shhh, I'm okay," Seto whispered soothingly, sitting up again, holding Mokuba close as he gently patted his back. "Except for a splitting head-ache," he added, rubbing a soar spot on his head.  
  
"Ehe…" Mai laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her neck. (She remembered hitting him with the plastic gun back in the arcade.)  
  
"Are you sure you're okay? That evil Yami Malik was using your body!" Mokuba said, sitting back and facing his brother.  
  
"I'm fine, really," he said, standing up wearily.  
  
He patted Mokuba on the head.  
  
"I'm glad," Mokuba replied happily.  
  
Serenity looked anxiously out behind the hotel.  
  
"Uh…yeah, so are we," Yugi replied, unsure of what to say.  
  
Joey stretched and yawned.  
  
"Well folks," he said turning around. "Let's say we head back home for bed. I'm as tired as I'll get out." He started to walk toward Mai's car.  
  
"Onichan?" Serenity asked, running up to her brother and gently taking his arm. "Remember back when we were younger, before mom and dad divorced?"  
  
Joey nodded.  
  
"Remember that day you took me to the beach, and promised to let me see the ocean again?" Serenity continued.  
  
Joey nodded again, everyone else listening as well.  
  
"Well, would it be all right if, before we go home tonight, we stop by the beach and stay for a few minutes?"  
  
Joey sighed and put his hand on his sister's shoulder.  
  
"But you wouldn't be able to see anything at this time of night," Joey said, looking around. The sun was almost all the way under the land. "We could go tomorrow…"  
  
He stopped as he saw the look in his sister's brown eyes. He smiled.  
  
"I promised to take you to the ocean again, and I will," he said. "And if you want to go tonight, we can go tonight."  
  
Serenity's eyes lit up with excitement.  
  
  
  
"Arigato, Onichan!" Serenity cried, hugging her brother tightly.  
  
Mai walked over to her car and started it up.  
  
"Get in, everyone!" she called. "Next stop, the beach!"  
  
Everyone ran over to the car, and packed themselves inside rather uncomfortably. It really didn't matter. Mokuba sat on his brother's lap, still hugging him tightly. Seto was still confused about some of the things the evil spirit had done with his body, but decided not to ask any questions. He didn't want to scare Mokuba again.  
  
The ride was short, and Mai soon pulled up at a parking space in front of the beach. Serenity opened her door and quickly got out, and looked out at the ocean waves crashing along the shores of the beach as the sun set behind the landscape.  
  
"Oh," she breathed as Joey walked over and stood next to her. "It's even more beautiful than before!"  
  
Joey put his hand on his little sister's shoulder and nodded.  
  
"Yeah," he said, looking out at it to, letting the wind blow his bangs into his face.  
  
The others got out of the car and stood next to Joey and Serenity as well.  
  
"It is pretty, isn't it, Ni-sama?" Mokuba asked, looking up at his brother.  
  
Seto nodded.  
  
The group stood there for a while, looking out at the ocean waves, the white foam, as the waves came in and came back out.   
  
"We can come back and go down on the beach tomorrow, okay, Serenity?" Joey asked, turning to his sister, who was entranced by the loveliness of the beach.  
  
She nodded.  
  
"This is nice," Yugi said, standing next to Tea and Duke. "All of us are here on this vacation."  
  
Duke sighed, almost sadly and looked at the ground.  
  
"Well, ALMOST all of us," he thought to himself, thinking of a girl he'd met a while back.  
  
"Hey!" A familiar female voice called from behind everyone, up near the hotel. "What are you guys doing out there? It's nearly 8:30! I've been looking everywhere for you!"  
  
Everyone turned around and suddenly saw a girl around their age, with long brown hair and blue eyes. She wore black jeans and a cream-colored, short-sleeved shirt with a little flower embroidered by at the top. She had light-purple eye-shadow on, but only just barely, and around her neck was an amber pendent.  
  
"Amber!" Duke cried, running up to join her. ("A Heart of Amber")  
  
Amber Johnson ran over to Duke and gave him a small hug, then broke away.  
  
"What are you doing here, Amber?" Duke asked as the others ran up behind them.  
  
"Don't you remember?" Amber asked impatiently, but smiling. "I said I was going to visit you this summer, remember? So I came up today without telling you so it would be a surprise, but when I got there, they said you'd gone to the beach with your friends!"  
  
"Yeah," Duke said, grinning embarrassedly.  
  
"So I decided to come up here and join you guys," Amber concluded, waving to the others. "Hi!"  
  
"Hi, Amber," Yugi said politely. "Nice to see you again."  
  
"Yeah, nice," Joey mumbled. He didn't care much for Amber. (Neither did Tristan, for that matter.)  
  
Amber stretched.  
  
"Sitting for hours on a bus isn't really my idea of fun," she grumbled, rubbing her back. "What did you guys do today? Anything interesting?"  
  
Everyone exchanged looks, smiling. Then they burst out laughing.  
  
"Hey!" Amber cried angrily, her hands wrapping into fists. "That's not funny! What did you do?"  
  
"Well, an evil spirit possessed Kaiba and we had to chase him all around town before we were able to destroy it," Yugi said quickly.  
  
Amber blinked.  
  
"Uh…okay," she said with a nervous grin. (If she hadn't experienced a taste of Yami Taerro's magic herself, she wouldn't have believed Yugi.) "Sounds…."  
  
She trailed off.  
  
"Anyway, I'm going to head upstairs and get myself a room," she said.  
  
"I'll go with you," Duke said following her up to the hotel, eager to talk to his friend.  
  
Yugi turned to Joey.  
  
"Well, we ought to head back to our own room too," he said, walking after Duke and Amber. "And first check and see if Taerro is okay."  
  
Joey nodded.  
  
"Good night, onichan!" Serenity called as she, Tea, and Mai took another route to their room.  
  
"Oyasumi!" Joey called back with a wave.  
  
As Mai passed by the pool area, she noticed someone coming up to her. She pushed Tea and Serenity behind her and lunged forward.  
  
"Who's there?!" she demanded, peering through the darkness at the small figure.  
  
The person walked forward and into the light of the ground lamps. It was Bakura!  
  
"Bakura!" Tea cried, running over to her friend. "You're soaking! What happened?"  
  
"Eh…I was walking out here for a minute and slipped into the pool," Yami Bakura fibbed.  
  
"How did you get in the pool area in the first place?" Mai asked.  
  
Yami Bakura shrugged.  
  
"Um…I was lost, and I didn't think that gate led to the pool area," he lied again.  
  
Serenity walked forward.   
  
"Well let's get inside so we can get some rest, and get you new clothes," she added.  
  
Bakura nodded sweetly.  
  
*****  
  
Later, everyone had gotten settled in their own rooms. After Seto and Mokuba put on their pajamas, Seto tucked Mokuba into bed, and got in his own bed, sleepily.  
  
"Do you want to watch a movie?" Mokuba asked, picking up the remote control from the desk beside the bed.   
  
Seto shook his head.  
  
"No, not really," he replied sleepily. "You go ahead. I'm pretty tired."  
  
"Yeah, after everything you and your body have been through today you should be," Mokuba replied. "I'll keep the volume down low for you."  
  
"Thanks…" Seto said.  
  
"Ni-sama?" Mokuba asked, rolling over and facing his brother.  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"This evening, when you were unconscious, I was really scared that you'd…you weren't going to wake up again," Mokuba confessed.  
  
"Don't worry anymore, I'm fine," Seto replied reassuringly, opening his eyes.  
  
"Okay," Mokuba said, covering up. "I love you."  
  
"And I love you too," Seto replied, glad to have his body back, and glad to have such a wonderful brother.  
  
*****  
  
"YAY! AMBER IS BACK!!!" -Red Archery Girl  
  
  
  
Oookay. Anyway, this ending was much cute. -Seto-Kaiba  
  
"Cause it was all about Seto and Mokuba…"   
  
But don't think our heroes are out of trouble yet. Another day is just around the corner…Anyway, please review and come back tomorrow for Chapter 10! 


	10. Chapter 10: An Unusual Conversation

Chapter 10: An Unusual Conversation  
  
Note: Thanks for the reviews guys! Oh, and to Golden and Silver Dragon, though this really doesn't apply to this chapter, I was having Yami use the sort of Mind Crush that he used on Panic and that guy who was after Tea in Face Off's flashback. Actually in the original "Heart of the Cards" Yami did say "mind crush" to Kaiba rather than opening of the mind. *shrug*  
  
"You get too technical! Just write the story!"  
  
  
  
Chapter 10:  
  
The next morning, Yugi joined Mai, Tea, Amber, and Serenity down in the lounge for breakfast. Yugi chose a pop-tart and a glass of orange juice before sitting down and joining the girls. They were already dressed in summer outfits, and were chatting brightly.  
  
"Good morning, Yugi," Tea said, scooting over and pulling out a chair for him. "Did you sleep well?"  
  
"Umm…" Yugi trailed off.  
  
To tell the truth, the night wasn't really the best night, comfort wise. Duke, Joey, and Yugi had to come up with some sort of sleeping arrangement as there had been only 2 beds for them to share. Both Duke and Joey, and Yugi reluctantly, agreed that Joey and Duke should each get a bed and that Yugi should share with either of the 2.  
  
However, sleeping with Joey was not fun, as Joey snored and continuously tossed and turned throughout the night, so Yugi decided at 1:00 am to sleep with Duke.  
  
But Duke was almost as bad. Instead of snoring, he talked in his sleep, most of which was just about dice, Amber, and his game shop. Then he went off into some long and meaningless babble about e-mail, keeping poor Yugi awake into the wee hours of the morning.  
  
Yugi rubbed his sleepy eyes and took a sip of his drink.  
  
"Well, I didn't sleep as well as I would have at home," Yugi finally answered Tea.  
  
"Awww," Tea said putting a hand on Yugi's shoulder. "I slept pretty well."  
  
"Good," Yugi said, taking a bite of his pop-tart.  
  
He glanced over at Mai, who was looking over a tourists brochure with Amber across the table.  
  
"So what are we planning to do today?" Yugi asked, yawning.  
  
Mai looked up.  
  
"Well, we're going to go shopping at the mall, then we're going to go down town to register for the Summer Fair tomorrow," Mai started.  
  
"Summer Fair?"  
  
"Yes, it's held out on the beach and there'll be lots of venders and activities and prizes and stuff," Mai said. "I'm going to sign up to run a booth with the other girl's help."  
  
Tea nodded excitedly.  
  
"There's even a prize for the best booth," she said with a grin as she balled up her napkin and tossed it into the trash bin a few feet away from her.  
  
"What's your booth going to be based on?" Duke asked, coming downstairs, overhearing their conversation.  
  
"Oh, good morning Duke," Amber said waving.  
  
He waved back and took a seat next to Yugi.  
  
"Well, we aren't quite sure what it's going to be about yet," Mai admitted as Duke got up again to browse the breakfast menu. "That's why we're going to the mall. To see if we could do something like a "fashion tip" booth."  
  
"Or a game booth," Amber put in.  
  
"Or how about we sell cookies?" Serenity asked.  
  
Everyone looked at her.  
  
"Well, honey," Mai said sweetly, putting an arm around her shoulder. "We don't exactly have access to an oven to BAKE the cookies in the first place."  
  
Serenity turned red.  
  
"Oh," she muttered, looking down at the green and red checkered carpet.  
  
"But it would have been a good idea," Tea added in to make Serenity feel better.  
  
Serenity nodded slowly as Duke sat back down with his selections. He looked tired, though not nearly as tired as Yugi did.  
  
"Did you sleep okay, Yugi?" Duke asked, unaware Yugi had switched to his bed in the middle of the night.  
  
"Did you know that you talk in your sleep, Duke?" Yugi asked with a grin.  
  
Duke looked horrified.  
  
"I DO?!" he asked Yugi.  
  
Yugi nodded. Amber seemed to be constraining giggles. Mai and Tea laughed.  
  
Duke put his hands firmly on Yugi's shoulders.  
  
"DO-NOT-REPEAT-ANYTHING-I-SAID!!!!" he said sternly to Yugi, shaking him slightly.  
  
"I…won't…if…you stop…shaking…me!" Yugi said as he was shaken back and forth.  
  
  
  
Duke stopped and went back to his breakfast, his face rather red.  
  
******  
  
Meanwhile, Mokuba woke up with the sunlight blaring in his eyes from the open window. He put the pillow over his head to keep it away, then realized where he was.  
  
"Oh yeah," he said, sitting up. "We're at the hotel."  
  
He got out of bed and fished through his suitcase for something to wear. He looked over at Seto, but he was still fast asleep.  
  
After getting dressed, Mokuba trotted down the hallway to the breakfast lounge, but stopped when he heard something from one of the rooms, though he couldn't tell if it was from one of their friends, or from someone else.  
  
  
  
"You can't run forever, you know. Sooner or later I will confront you, and you will lose."  
  
Mokuba put his ear up to the door to hear better.  
  
"That's what you think. You underestimate my shadow magic."  
  
"Please, I know it was Yugi who defeated Yami Malik yesterday, so don't even try to bluff."  
  
Mokuba backed up a little as he heard rustling sounds from inside the room.  
  
"Somehow, these people know about what happened yesterday, but who did Yugi's friends tell? Who WOULD they tell?!" Mokuba thought.  
  
"Fine. But when the time comes, you will come off with the worst, Bakura."  
  
Bakura?!  
  
"What's going on here?!" Mokuba thought, running back to his own room, not wanting to be caught in front of the door of two maniacs of some sort. "Bakura is one of the ones talking. I could sort of recognize his accent; but who was the other one? Who else was in that room?"  
  
Mokuba hurried back to his own room and tried to open the door, but it was stuck.  
  
"Oh no!" he muttered, looking down at the heavy lock. "I forgot these doors always lock themselves and you can't get back in without the key…which I left in there!"  
  
He sighed.  
  
Suddenly, a door opened down the hall and Mokuba jumped. He bounded down the hallway and down the stairs into the main lobby.  
  
He looked around frantically for some sign of his friends and caught sight of the lounge where several people…including Yugi and Duke…were eating breakfast.  
  
Mokuba dodged a woman with a cat-carrier and skidded into the room where he stood by Yugi's table, panting, for a few minutes.  
  
"Are…you all right, Mokuba?" Yugi asked quizzically.  
  
Mokuba shook his head.  
  
"No…Bakura and…someone else from his room…are planning to fight each other…" Mokuba choked out, gasping for breath.  
  
Mai put her hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Did you just overhear this?"   
  
Mokuba nodded.  
  
"Then I'll bet they were just referring to Duel Monster fighting," Mai said reassuringly.  
  
"But…but…they were talking about Yugi and…" Mokuba started but Duke cut him off.  
  
"I'll bet they were just talking in their sleep," Duke said, sadly, stirring his tea with a stirring stick.  
  
Amber giggled.  
  
"See Duke?" she said, pointing to Mokuba. "It's a common thing to talk in your sleep. Don't feel bad."  
  
Duke shrugged.  
  
"Good morning, Mokuba," Seto said, walking downstairs, fully dressed.  
  
He didn't look nearly as tired as Duke or Yugi did. (Then again, he didn't have to share a bed with someone who talks about e-mail all through the night.)  
  
"Ni-sama!" Mokuba said happily, walking over to him. "Hi!"  
  
"Hi," Seto replied, looking around. "I'm guessing the puppy and the others aren't awake yet?" he added, noticing there weren't very many downstairs.  
  
Yugi shook his head.  
  
"Nope, but there's Bakura, Taerro, and Triston," Yugi said, pointing behind him at the three boys who were just walking in.  
  
"Good morning," Bakura said politely and cheerfully.  
  
"Hi…"Mokuba said, far-away sounding.  
  
Bakura cocked his head.  
  
"Something wrong?" he asked suspiciously.  
  
Mokuba shook his head, then stopped and nodded.  
  
"Bakura, do you talk in your sleep?" Mokuba asked rather embarrassedly.  
  
Bakura paused for a moment, Yami Bakura doing some quick thinking.  
  
"Yes!" he laughed, putting his hand behind his neck, going a little pink. "I do, I'm afraid. I talk about the weirdest things sometimes. It's quite embarrassing."  
  
"Know the feeling," Duke muttered, finishing his tea and tossing the foam cup into the trash bin.  
  
Mai stood up, grabbed her purse, and then started for the door.  
  
"Well, let's go guys. There's lots of placing we have to go, and then maybe later we can go to the beach like your brother promised you last night," Mai said to Serenity.  
  
Serenity nodded and she and Tea followed Mai to the door.  
  
"Let's see, do any of you guys want to come to the mall with us?" Mai asked, her hands on her hips.  
  
Bakura, Taerro, Yugi, and Triston shook their heads.  
  
"I'm not going anywhere near a store today, unless it has anything to do with sports or cards," Triston said, grabbing a muffin and sitting down. "You girls are going to go clothes-shopping or nail-polish shopping or something."  
  
Amber stood up, insulted.  
  
"Hey, I'm not going clothes and nail-polish shopping!" she snapped. "Do you want to come, Duke?"  
  
Duke stood up.  
  
  
  
"Sure, why not?" he asked, waving to Yugi and following Amber and the others out to Mai's car.  
  
Yugi stretched and stood up.  
  
"I'm going to go take a walk outside," he told Triston and the others, who were just settling into breakfast. "Tell me when Joey is up so we can figure out what we want to do."  
  
Seto picked up the tourists brochure Mai had left behind and began to read it, looking for somewhere for he and Mokuba to go.  
  
******  
  
Yugi walked along the bleach-white sidewalks outside, the roar of the ocean in his ears and the salty sea-water in the air. It was actually quite pleasant.  
  
"Yami?" he asked, and his spiritual partner appeared beside him.  
  
"Hm?" Yami asked as Yugi sat down at a table with an umbrella shading it from the sun.  
  
"Do you think Bakura was really saying that stuff, or just talking in his sleep like he admitted?"  
  
Yami paused.  
  
"I said before that it WAS possible that the Millennium Ring was still out there," Yami replied. "But also, Mokuba had just gotten up and could have been half-asleep. He might not have completely understood what was being said, or Bakura really was talking in his sleep, like Duke did last night."  
  
Yugi laughed, but the laughter quickly died down.  
  
Things were getting confusing, and he needed to get to the bottom of who was behind all these things that had been happening before someone really got hurt.  
  
*****  
  
End of Chapter 10.  
  
Thanks for reading and reviewing, and next chapter up either today or tomorrow!  
  
"Bye for now!" 


	11. Chapter 11: Mall and Places

Chapter 11: The Mall and other places  
  
Notes: LuckyLadyBug66: When the Oregon trail game starts up, it asks you for your name and the names of your partners. I just typed in Yugioh character names to see what would happen to them. For some reason, Seto always dies...L And Malik and Rashid/Lihito? I was thinking about putting them in this story, but I think I've decided I'll put them in my next one. I know they'd probably make the stories more interesting, and everybody likes them. J Thanks for reviewing everyone!  
  
Chapter 11:  
  
Joey came downstairs with bed-head and his shirt un-tucked. He sat down in a chair next to Triston and Seto and rubbed his eyes.  
  
  
  
"I woke up on the floor this morning," he mumbled. "I mean, I think someone pushed me. I don't move when I sleep."  
  
Triston rolled his eyes.  
  
  
  
"I'm sure," he replied.  
  
Sitting next to Seto, Joey looked even sloppier, as Seto looked much more...well-trimmed.  
  
"You might consider running a brush through your hair before we go anywhere, Joey," Bakura pointed out as he got a refill on the tea.  
  
He came back to the table and sat down again.  
  
Joey shrugged.  
  
"Maybe," he replied.  
  
Seto stood up and dumped the rest of his things into the trash bin as well, Mokuba following the suit.  
  
"I guess that shows how concerned he is with his appearance," Seto muttered before walking out of the room with Mokuba.  
  
"Jerk," Joey muttered sleepily.  
  
*****  
  
Mokuba and Seto walked outside and down the same sidewalk as Yugi.  
  
"So where are we going to go?" Mokuba asked his brother as they walked side by side down the sidewalk.  
  
Seto shrugged.  
  
"The mall down town sounded like a good place. There was a game store in there," Seto replied. "We might check it out."  
  
Mokuba nodded.  
  
"Isn't that where Mai went?" he asked.  
  
Seto patted Mokuba's shoulder.  
  
"It's a big mall. I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't even run across them once while we were in there," Seto said and Mokuba laughed.  
  
"Are you going to enter the contests at the Summer Fair tomorrow?" Mokuba asked, hoping his brother would be.  
  
Seto nodded.  
  
"Of course," he replied as they walked past Yugi and continued down the path. (They had planned on walking so as to get to see the scenery and the mall was only a few blocks away.  
  
"Great!" Mokuba cheered. "I'll bet you'll win tons!"  
  
Seto laughed.  
  
"And are you entering any?" Seto asked his brother as they turned a corner.  
  
Mokuba shrugged.  
  
"Maybe if there's something good that I could do," he replied.  
  
"I'm sure there will be," Seto replied, but his voice sounded far-away.  
  
*****  
  
It only took Mai and her crew a few minutes, 5 at the most, to get to the mall, as it WAS very close. Mai, Serenity, Tea, Amber, and Duke walked indoors and were refreshed by the cool, air-conditioned environment.  
  
"Ah!" Duke sighed, brushing his hair back. "That feels nice."  
  
"Sure does," Mai said determinedly. "Now! To find some stuff to decorate our booth with...and to base it on!"  
  
"Well, you guys can go do that," Amber said politely, steering Duke in the opposite direction. "We're going somewhere cooler."  
  
"And where is that, Amber?" Duke whispered.  
  
Amber shrugged.  
  
"Bye!" Amber called, waving, as she pulled Duke off down another corridor.  
  
Mai, Serenity, and Tea looked around at the crowds, milling about the mall, looking at the different shops.  
  
"So..." Tea muttered, looking around.  
  
"Where should we start?" Serenity asked.  
  
Mai grinned.  
  
*****  
  
Meanwhile, Yugi walked back inside the now quiet hotel and into the breakfast area, where Taerro and Triston were still eating their last remains of breakfast.  
  
"Hey guys," he said, looking at the two. "Did Joey ever get up? And where did Bakura go?"  
  
Triston jerked his thumb toward a darker room behind the dining area.  
  
"Video arcade," he muttered.  
  
"Joey too?"  
  
Triston nodded and tossed his trash in the bin.  
  
Yugi walked through the dining area and into the dimly lit video arcade. Joey was playing furiously on a pin-ball machine, yelling at the machine as he missed the ball with the flapper and it disappeared.  
  
"DRAT!" he yelled angrily, hitting the machine's plastic surface. "That was my last ball too."  
  
"Calm down Joey!" Yugi cried, running over to his friend and grabbing his arm gently. "You don't want to break the machine!"  
  
Joey took a breath and faced Yugi.  
  
"Nah, I guess not," he sighed.  
  
"Why were you spending your money on pin-ball anyway?" Yugi asked curiously, never knowing Joey to be one to play arcade games with his spare change.  
  
Joey shrugged.  
  
"It wasn't my money," he said casually as the flickering lights from the pinball machine flashed on him. "I just found a quarter on the floor and decided to give it a go."  
  
Yugi smacked his forehead, then he looked around for any sign of Bakura. Sure enough, their white-haired friend was sitting down in one of the seats and was driving a race car, very poorly, down the track on the screen.  
  
"Blast," he muttered as he crashed (for the seventh time, by the look of the car) into a billboard on the side of the road.  
  
"Hey Bakura, what are you doing?" Yugi asked, as he walked over to his friend.  
  
(Joey was searching under the pool table for another lose quarter so he could take his revenge on the pinball machine.)  
  
  
  
"Playing a game," Bakura replied smoothly, taking another wild turn, crashing into the car in front of him and totaling the vehicle, thus losing the game. "Drat."  
  
He stood up and brushed off his gray pants.  
  
"Are we going somewhere?" he asked Yugi quizzically, looking up at his with his large brown eyes.  
  
Yugi shrugged.  
  
"I hope so," he said as he and Bakura headed back into the dining room. ("Come on Joey! You can take revenge on the machine later!") "I don't want to spend the day hanging around a hotel."  
  
"Let's see what the other two want to do," Joey muttered, still glaring at the pinball machine.  
  
However, when they reentered the dining room, only Triston was there.  
  
"Where did Taerro go?" Yugi asked, looking around.  
  
Triston shrugged.  
  
"Said something about wanting to catch up with the others at the mall," Triston said casually.  
  
"And where're Kaiba and Mokuba?" Yugi asked, noticing they were missing too.  
  
"Mall," Joey answered for him.  
  
"Everyone's at the mall!" Yugi exclaimed.  
  
Bakura shrugged this time.  
  
"Well then, should we go somewhere else?" he asked, looking at his friends.  
  
"Sure," Joey said, walking for the door. "Let's just go anywhere that comes to mind."  
  
"Ah! There you boys are," Came a voice from behind them and the four boys slowly turned around to see Mr. Taylor.  
  
"Uh...hi dad," Triston replied with a nervous grin.  
  
"Come on now," he said, gesturing for the door. "We've got loads to do today."  
  
Everyone's jaw dropped and Triston hurried over to his dad.  
  
"Dad! Where are you taking us?" he asked nervously.  
  
Mr. Taylor turned around in surprise.  
  
"Why, to go to see all the history behind this place! I'm sure it's packed with museums, and monuments, and..." Mr. Taylor started, but everyone else was too horrified to listen.   
  
They had waited too long, and now they were going to have to spend at least half of one of their precious vacation days at history museums.  
  
"Wow! Look at the time!" Mr. Taylor exclaimed, checking his watch. "Let's go!"  
  
Everyone groaned.  
  
*****  
  
Taerro strode down the sidewalk, briskly, ignoring everyone else in his path.   
  
"There is only one last thing I need to do before I can confront Bakura with the certainty that I have more power," he whispered to himself. "Drain more of the spirit of that girl...the one with the necklace."  
  
In the distance, he saw the mall approaching and a big grin crossed his evil face.  
  
"Look out, Bakura," he said as he flung the front door open. "You've met your match!"  
  
  
  
******  
  
End of Chapter 11  
  
Chapter 12 will be up today too! Thanks for your reviews everyone! 


	12. Chapter 12: The Evil Spirit Strikes Agai...

Chapter 12: The Evil Spirit Strikes Again.  
  
Amber and Duke walked side by side through the crowded mall, looking at various shops and things, looking enthusiastically at the displays through the windows.  
  
"Did you hear about the contests tomorrow?" Amber asked as they walked around a candle shop.  
  
Duke was looking at a green, apple-scented one. He turned around.  
  
"Uh…probably," he replied. "I'm guessing they'll have swimming and stuff?"  
  
Amber shrugged.  
  
  
  
"Who knows," she replied. "But I'm going to enter anything I qualify for."  
  
"That's a good attitude," Duke commented with a smile.  
  
Amber looked at her watch.  
  
"Hey, it's nearly lunch-time," she informed him as they walked out of the Candle Store and into the lobby of the mall once more. "Why don't we go somewhere in here for lunch?"  
  
Duke shrugged, smiling.  
  
"Sure."  
  
******  
  
Mai, Tea, and Serenity were looking around in a beauty store for ideas of what their booth could do. Tea held up a bottle of green nail-polish.  
  
"Who would put something like this color on?" she shuddered.  
  
  
  
Mai took it from her.  
  
  
  
"You just have to have the right taste in…." Mai began, but stopped.  
  
"Mai?" Serenity asked as Mai stood there was a big grin on her face.  
  
"Tea, you are a genius!" Mai exclaimed, wrapping her arm tightly around Tea's shoulder and neck.  
  
"Ga!" Tea gagged. "Let me go!"  
  
She managed to get away from Mai's grip and rubbed her neck.  
  
"WHAT am I a genius for?" Tea demanded as Mai began picking up different colors of nail-polish and blushes.  
  
"You gave me a great idea," Mai told her as she examined a blue lipstick. "For the booth."  
  
Tea blinked.  
  
"I did?"  
  
Mai nodded.  
  
"Yeah," she replied, standing up and facing Tea. "I was saying that people have different tastes. That's what we can do: give make-overs and fashion tips depending on our customers taste."  
  
"And who's going to pay for all this?" Tea asked as she and Serenity followed her up to the counter.  
  
Mai dumped her enormous load of make-up supplies onto the counter and pulled a credit card out of her purse.  
  
"My credit card is," she said slyly.  
  
**** **  
  
Meanwhile, Yugi, Joey, and Bakura were stuck in the backseat of Mr. Taylor's car, (Triston was in the front, though it hardly mattered) as they drove slowly down the road, stopping every so often to have Mr. Taylor get out, walk over to a plaque attached to a faded monument of some sort, and read the name and date to everyone.  
  
"Triston!" Joey hissed angrily as Mr. Taylor got out of the car once more to read another plaque. "This is TORTURE!"  
  
Triston slumped down in his seat.  
  
"At least he's not YOUR dad," he muttered.  
  
"1957!" Mr. Taylor called back in.  
  
"Wippee!" Bakura cheered, sarcastically.  
  
Mr. Taylor got back into the car and started up the engine again.  
  
  
  
"This is just GREAT, don't you boys think?" he asked as he started off down the road again.  
  
Yami Bakura was very close to blowing his cover.  
  
"This idiotic man finds PLEASURE in being trapped in a hot car with four teenagers?!" he thought to himself. "Absurd."  
  
"Um…Mr. Taylor?" Yugi asked politely. "Can we please go to the mall now? Everyone else is there."  
  
"Maybe after we see the other side of town," he said brightly. "Why come to another town to go to a mall?"  
  
Everyone groaned.  
  
******  
  
Meanwhile, Duke and Amber had decided upon eating at a pizza place and were happily chatting as they waited for a waitress to come by and take their order.  
  
"So, what REALLY happened last night?" Amber asked curiously. "I mean, with the whole possessing thing?"  
  
Duke laughed, although the memories of the previous night were not funny.  
  
"Well, Seto was possessed by an old evil spirit and…" Duke trailed off as a waitress came over to their table.  
  
"What do you kids want to drink?" she asked shortly, pulling out a pad of paper and plucking out a pen from behind her ear.  
  
"Iced tea," Duke replied.  
  
Amber made a face.  
  
"Sorry Duke, but I can't stand ice-tea," she replied, browsing the drink menu. "How about a Sprite?"  
  
"Fine," The waitress replied, scribbling down their orders.  
  
"And we'll just have one cheese pizza," Duke said, knowing he and Amber could probably take any extras home with them, as Joey would eat them in a second.  
  
  
  
"I'll be back in a second with the drinks," The lady replied, and walked away.  
  
"You don't like ice-tea?" Duke gasped.  
  
Amber shook her head and made another face.  
  
  
  
"Oh no," she replied. "I can't stand it!"  
  
Duke looked suspiciously at her.  
  
"Have you even tried it?" he asked her.  
  
Amber blushed.  
  
"Anyway, as you were saying about the evil spirit?" she continued loudly.  
  
"Shhh! Not so loud!" Duke scolded, not wanting someone else to overhear them and take them for crazy.  
  
Amber leaned across the table.  
  
"As you were saying?" she whispered to him.  
  
*****  
  
Seto and Mokuba were browsing through an electronics store when they finally reached the mall twenty minutes after they had started. Seto was reading a computer manual, and Mokuba was just playing a mini-game on one of the test computers.  
  
Mokuba sighed and sat down on a chair. Seto looked up from his manual.  
  
"Is something wrong?" he asked Mokuba, setting the manual back on its shelf.  
  
Mokuba was quiet for a second.  
  
"Well, sort of," he confessed.  
  
Seto cocked his head.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Well, this morning, I overheard a conversation between Bakura and someone else. They were plotting against each other, and they sounded mad," Mokuba said. "But the problem is, no one believed me. Everyone says that Bakura was just talking in his sleep."  
  
"I remembered you asked him that," Seto said, thinking back to breakfast.  
  
"But that couldn't have been the reason!" Mokuba declared. "If Bakura was talking in his sleep, how was the other person's conversation going along with his? You can't talk in your sleep to someone else and have them reply in their sleep."  
  
Seto nodded slowly. Maybe Bakura and this other person, (One of Yugi's other friends, Seto thought) had something to do with Yami Malik's appearance the other day.  
  
"I believe you," Seto replied as Mokuba stood up.  
  
"What are we going to do?" Mokuba asked.   
  
"I'm thinking…" Seto replied, trailing off.  
  
******  
  
Duke continued to explain about the previous evening, as Yami Taerro walked by the restraunt. He paused and peered in the window, and spotted Amber. His eyes narrowed.  
  
"Finally," he thought, sneaking in the doorway. (It was easy for little Taerro to blend in, so Yami Taerro used his host's appearance to the fullest.)  
  
He snuck back behind Amber (she didn't notice as she was giving her full attention to Duke's story) and held out his bracelet. It started to glow the blue and purple colors it did when he was about to drain a victim of part of their spirit.  
  
Suddenly, Amber went very stiff, and Yami Taerro hurried away.  
  
"Amber?" Duke asked, looking at her.  
  
No answer. Instead, Amber started to fall over. Duke hurried over and caught her before she hit the ground.  
  
"Amber?" he asked, looking around.  
  
Before Yami Taerro could get completely away, Duke got a glimpse of him and his glowing bracelet, but in the next instant, he was gone.  
  
******  
  
End of Chapter 12  
  
Please Review, as always, and next chapter 


	13. Chapter 13: Let the Competitions Begin!

Chapter 13: Let the Competitions Begin!  
  
"Amber!" Duke cried, trying to shake his friend awake. "What are you doing?! Amber!"  
  
Amber looked like she was sleeping, or as if she'd just fainted, in Duke's opinion. Duke glanced around wildly for a second, trying to find something to use.  
  
Suddenly, he spotted a waitress walking by with a pitcher of ice-tea.  
  
"May I borrow this?" he asked, grabbing it.  
  
"Sorry Amber," he thought, dumping the tea on her.  
  
  
  
Sure enough, she woke up immediately, coughing on the tea.  
  
"I said I DIDN'T want to drink tea!" she cried, then opened her eyes and looked at herself as she stood up. "Nor did I want to take a bath in it," she added, looking at her sopping wet clothes.  
  
"Sorry," Duke apologized, feeling rather stupid now that the waitress and nearly everyone else in the restraunt was staring at them. "You just fainted or something."  
  
"I…what?" she asked, feeling even more stupid than Duke did. "I FAINTED in a public place?!"  
  
Duke nodded.  
  
"Can I have my pitcher back?" The waitress asked Duke, plucking it from his hands.  
  
"Do you want to wait for our pizza?" Duke asked Amber, but she shook her head.  
  
Amber started for the door.  
  
"Suddenly, I'm not so hungry…" she muttered, thinking hard.  
  
Duke put some change on the table as a tip to pay for the tea, and then hurried after Amber.  
  
"Amber, I'm really sorry about the tea," he called, catching up to her.  
  
  
  
Amber shook her head.  
  
"It's not about the tea," she muttered, looking down at the tile floor of the mall. "It's…I felt like I did a while back…at the tournament when I lost to that Taerro boy. When he was still evil, of course."  
  
Duke nodded slowly. He had seen Taerro running away just as Amber had fainted. Maybe the evil Taerro was back again….  
  
********  
  
It was nearly 4:30 in the afternoon when everyone finally returned back to the hotel. Mai, Tea, and Serenity with shopping bags full of their beauty supplies, Seto and Mokuba with only a computer game and a manual, Amber and Duke with nothing, and Bakura, Yugi, Joey, Triston, and even Mr. Taylor with sunburn from sitting in the car too long.  
  
"Oh, Yugi, I had plenty of sun-block!" Serenity said sadly, looking at Yugi's red skin. "Then you wouldn't have gotten sunburn!"  
  
"Isn't that the sun-block you tried to use back at the pool in Domino?" Tea asked. "The color one?"  
  
Serenity nodded.  
  
"Well then Yugi would have turned purple," Joey said moodily, more so snapping at Tea than his sister.  
  
"Oh," Serenity sighed, looking at the ground.  
  
  
  
"Wasn't that fun, boys?" Mr. Taylor asked merrily as he patted Triston and Joey on the back.  
  
"Ow!" Triston cried, slipping out from under his dad's grip. "The sunburn, dad?"  
  
"Oops, sorry," he replied with a shrug. "Just put on some coco butter and you'll be fine."  
  
With that, Mr. Taylor walked up the stairs and disappeared.  
  
"Coco butter? Duke asked, blinking.  
  
"It's what you put on sunburn to make it feel better," Yugi explained.  
  
"But it really just makes you STILL hurt but feel sticky too," Joey added I, marching to his room. "I think my dad tossed some in my bag yesterday. Come on."  
  
And all the boys, with the exception of Seto and Mokuba, followed Joey up to his room. Mai, Tea, and Serenity had wandered off to their room to prepare for the booth tomorrow, and Amber and Duke had decided to go to her room and play Dungeon Dice Monsters.  
  
Seto looked around the lobby. All while Yugi and his friends were talking, he had been looking to make sure everyone was still there…but one person was missing. Taerro.  
  
"What's wrong, Ni-sama?" Mokuba asked curiously, looking up at his older brother.  
  
Seto shook his head.  
  
"Nothing…except that Taerro kid isn't back yet," Seto answered. "Where could he be?"  
  
Mokuba looked around, wide-eyed.  
  
"Yeah…I wonder," he added vaguely, then he looked up at his brother quickly. "Do you think he's the other person Bakura was talking to? I mean, none of us know him very well, and he was evil on that island…."  
  
Seto looked out the glass doors to the hotel. Things were getting confusing, and dangerous. What were Bakura and Taerro, now it seems, planning?  
  
"Mokuba?" Seto asked kindly. "Tell me exactly what the two said."  
  
Mokuba informed his brother of what they were talking about. How they were going to face off or something.  
  
Seto thought for a moment.  
  
"If this is real, it could be dangerous," he said out loud. "So let's both keep our eyes open tomorrow at the fair, all right?"  
  
Mokuba nodded with a determined smile.  
  
"Mm!"  
  
******  
  
The next morning, everyone was up early and were milling around the dining area, waiting for Mai to get downstairs so they could start out on their way to the beach. (Which wasn't a long walk. Only 5 minutes, as it was directly behind the hotel.)  
  
Yugi and Joey were talking with Triston in a corner (trying to hide from Mr. Taylor) and Duke and Amber were browsing through each other's decks. Seto was reading his computer manual and Mokuba had challenged Bakura to a racing game in the arcade. (To see who could get the better score)  
  
"Ha!" Mokuba cried, jumping up and down as a large "GAME OVER" sign fluttered over the screen of Bakura's game. "I win!"  
  
"Stupid child," Yami Bakura muttered, but Mokuba was too busy feeling happy to pay any attention.  
  
Yami Bakura looked over at Yami Taerro, who was sitting alone.  
  
"Today is your last," Yami Bakura hissed.  
  
Tea and Serenity were going over the names and brands of things Mai had told them would be worth-while to have memorized. A few moments later, Mai came down the stairs, brushing her long, golden hair out with a brush.  
  
"Are we all set?" Mai asked, holding up a bag of her own.  
  
Yugi nodded.  
  
Most everyone was bringing along their bathing suits, just in case their was a contest involving water, and sun-block. (Amber brought some normal kind, so Serenity's purple-block was left upstairs in the hotel-room bathroom)  
  
"Let's go then!" she said and the gang started off outside.  
  
It was a warm morning, which was sure to turn into a hot day, so Joey put on a pair of yellow sunglasses as they walked. People were crowding the paths more than usual because of the festival and it was harder to keep together in the crowd.  
  
A few minutes later, however, the beach came into view and Serenity's eyes went wide and happy again. On the beach today, were several booths and canopies, people selling, and buying from everywhere on the beach. Kids were building sandcastles and swimming in the shallow waters of the ocean, laughing and screaming as the tide went out, and then crashed back in on them.  
  
Mai turned to the others.  
  
"We need to go rent a booth box," she explained. "You guys go sign up for your contests: the main desk is up there."  
  
She pointed up a large sand dune, where there was a large canopy and a man with sunglasses sitting at a table with tons of papers and pens in front of him.  
  
"Thanks Mai!" Yugi called as he and the others hurried up the hill.  
  
After reaching the top, they approached the table and looked down at the sign up sheets.  
  
"Eh….what do we do?" Joey asked the man sitting there.  
  
The man tilted his sunglasses up and perched them on top of his head. He took a pen and pointed to the top of each paper.  
  
"Read the activity and time up here, and then sign your name on the list if you're interested," he explained. "And take one of these activity schedules, so you'll know when you need to show up for your contests."  
  
He added, handing everyone present a copy of a bright orange schedule.  
  
Seto sighed up for the swimming race, along with Duke, Amber, and Yugi. Joey, Triston, and Tea, surprisingly, signed up for the dune races on vehicles that looked like small but wide motorcycles, because the swim contests and the dune racing was at the same time: 1:00 pm.  
  
Joey also sighed up for the pie eating contest.  
  
"What's the point in signing up for that?" Triston asked, moving to the next sheet. "We all know Joey will win. There's nothing he won't eat. NOTHING."  
  
Joey smirked, though he didn't quite know whether Triston meant that as a compliment or an insult.  
  
Yugi also signed up for the old card games event, and Seto signed both himself and Mokuba up for the foot-races. (They had two different sections: 12 and under, and 13 and over) Amber, Duke, Joey, and Triston also signed up for the foot-race.  
  
Duke stretched out his arms and sighed.  
  
"Well, we've got some time to spare," he said, looking around. "It's only 10:23, and our first contest doesn't start until 1:00. Why don't we split up and explore?"  
  
Amber nodded, pulling Duke to the left.  
  
"See you!" she called back to Yugi and his friends.  
  
Tea turned to Yugi.  
  
"Serenity and I need to go help Mai with the booth, but I'm sure I'll see you later," she explained.  
  
"Come by and check it out, Onichan!(brother)" Serenity said as she and Tea walked off as well.  
  
Seto looked around. Taerro had mysteriously vanished again and Bakura was heading off to go check out the booths, Yugi with him. Joey and Triston were going to go see how Mai and the other girl's booth was doing, so only he and Mokuba were left.  
  
"What do you want to do, Ni-sama?" Mokuba asked, looking up at his older brother, shielding his eyes from the bright sun.  
  
Seto looked straight forward.  
  
"I think we need to find Taerro and ask him a few questions," Seto replied.  
  
******  
  
End of Chapter 13  
  
14 coming soon! Thanks for reading, and PLEASE leave a review! Thanks! 


	14. Chapter 14: More Underhanded Tactics

Chapter 14: More Under-Handed Tactics  
  
Note: This Chapter is named almost exactly the same as the prequel to this story, "Under-Handed Tactics" because "Under-Handed Tactics" was mostly about Yami Bakura and Taerro and their under-handed plans to get rid of Yugi and his friends, which is somewhat what this chapter is about.  
  
Oh, and I think Seto is great when he's in action too, Silver Dragon Girl! ;) And yeah, Triston's dad is a bit geeky but he adds to the atmosphere. And I try to make Tea in my stories act more like Anzu from the Japanese version of the show. ;)  
  
"Yawn! Let's get to the action!"  
  
*sigh* Okay, let's go!"  
  
******  
  
Chapter 14: More Under-handed Tactics  
  
Amber and Duke walked along the pavement, enjoying the scenery. Several families were carrying umbrellas, coolers, and beach blankets as they hurried excitedly down to the festival as they passed by.  
  
"Everything's so full of excitement!" Amber remarked, looking around. "I LOVE it!"  
  
Duke laughed.  
  
"So….where had you planned on going first?" he asked her as they passed by another family with twin girls.  
  
Amber shrugged.  
  
"I don't know…." she replied, pulling her deck out of her pocket. "I brought my deck along in case someone wanted to duel."  
  
Duke pulled his out too.  
  
"Me too," he added. "Thanks for the tips last night; I think it's improved. "I beat Joey last night."  
  
Amber flashed a thumbs-up sign.  
  
"Good work!" she said with a wink. "He's supposed to be a tournament duelist, too. Hey, can I see your deck again?"  
  
"Sure," Duke said, handing his to her and she handed hers to Duke.  
  
As they passed by an alley, two gangster-type boys looked out at the two.  
  
"They've got duel monster cards," One with dark sunglasses whispered.  
  
The other nodded. His eyes were bright green and he wore a yellow, sleeveless shirt to show off his muscles.  
  
"Yeah," he agreed. "And I say we…relieve those duelists of the cards," he chuckled.  
  
"I hear you," The first one laughed and they came out from behind the alley and after Duke and Amber.  
  
*****  
  
Meanwhile, Joey was hanging out around the girl's booth, which, unfortunately, wasn't getting very much business. Mai had set up many compacts, lipsticks, and nail polishes as attractions on the shelf of the booth, but still, no one had come by.  
  
"This is beginning to get depressing," Mai commented, wiping sweat off her forehead. "Not one single customer."  
  
Serenity nodded sadly and sat down on one of the plastic chairs Mai had rented along with the booth box.  
  
"I'M here," Joey put in indignantly, pointing at himself.  
  
"But you're not paying or wanting to buy anything," Mai snapped.  
  
Joey smiled.  
  
"Sure I am," he said, picking up an odd color of nail polish and turning to Serenity. "Is this color nice?"  
  
Serenity nodded.  
  
  
  
"Yes, onichan!" she said cheerily. "It's very pretty, and very inexpensive!"  
  
"I'll take it then!" Joey declared. "How much?"  
  
"Two dollars and fifty cents," Mai declared as Joey handed over the money. "But why are you buying nail polish, Joey?"  
  
Joey grinned and handed it to Serenity.  
  
"As a gift for my sister!" he said with a grin as Serenity sweat-dropped and took it from him. "Now I'm going to go catch up with Triston and Yugi!"  
  
"Later!" he called with a wave.  
  
Mai blinked. Tea's jaw dropped.  
  
"I only said it was nice to advertise it," Serenity sighed sadly, putting back on the table. "I didn't REALLY like it."  
  
Mai shook her head.  
  
"That's Joey for you," she sighed. "He doesn't have a clue about fashion."  
  
"I wish he'd paid for a fashion tip," Tea sighed.  
  
******  
  
Seto and Mokuba were looking around in the booth area for any sign of Taerro, but so far, they'd had no luck. They spotted Yugi examining a pack of Duel Monster cards at a card booth, but Bakura wasn't with him. Triston and Joey were talking by a hotdog stand.  
  
"Come on!" Joey was pleading.  
  
"No way, man. I can't let you do it," Triston protested. "If you want to win that pie contest, NO EATING until it starts."  
  
Joey grumbled and crossed his arms.  
  
"I don't think I'd ever reduce myself to such an embarrassing contest as pie-eating," Seto thought to himself before moving on. "Let's go, Mokuba. Maybe we'll find something up at the pool."  
  
Mokuba nodded and hurried after his brother.  
  
******  
  
Amber and Duke were still walking happily when a noise behind them made them both whirl around. Behind them stood the two boys from the alley. They had been trailing them for several minutes.  
  
Amber shoved Duke's deck into her pocket, and Duke did the same with Amber's.  
  
"What do you want?" Duke demanded.  
  
  
  
"Those pretty cards you just put in your pockets," One announced, cracking his knuckles.  
  
"Well, they're ours, and you can't have them," Amber snapped, backing up as the two advanced on her and Duke.  
  
"I'm sorry, but either you hand them over, or we get a little, ROUGH, and take them by force," The other announced, lowering his sunglasses to get a better view of the retreating two.  
  
Duke giggled nervously and forced a grin.  
  
"Uh…were those the only options?" he asked with a nervous laugh as he reached into his other pocket. "Stand back Amber," he hissed at her.  
  
Amber reached into her other pocket as well.  
  
"Yeah, and I'm assuming since you ain't handing over those cards, you want us to take 'em by force!" The one with the glasses yelled and lunged forward.  
  
"Ha!" Duke yelled, jumping backward and tossing a fist-full of dice at them, causing the attackers to stop and wince.  
  
"Hey," Duke said, noticing something else being thrown among his dice. The were small, amber-colored…marbles!  
  
He looked over at Amber, who grinned.  
  
"Being around you has taught me you always need something to throw," Amber said with a shrug as they two backed off.  
  
"All right," The one with the sunglasses admitted. "You got us there. But meet back here at 12:00 pm and then we can have a duel; a tag-duel. You two, against us two."  
  
Amber looked over at Duke and raised her eyebrows.  
  
"Don't back away, Duke," Amber pleaded in her head. "Accept."  
  
Duke thought for a moment.  
  
"Okay," he agreed finally. "We'll be back here at 12:00 sharp and then you two will see what we can do!"  
  
The two boys sneered and walked away, leaving Amber and Duke behind.  
  
"Thanks for accepting the duel, Duke," Amber said cheerfully as they continued to walk along the path. "I know we'll clobber those guys."  
  
Duke grinned.  
  
"Really," he agreed. "If you have to steal to play, then you're a pretty pathetic, not to mention dishonorable, duelist."  
  
Amber nodded in agreement.  
  
******  
  
Meanwhile, Yami Taerro was looking out from behind the shed near the large pool that was going to be used for the swimming race in a few hours. Two men were attending to it, cleaning, filtering, and skimming it so it would be in perfect condition for the race.  
  
Yami Taerro grinned widely.  
  
"First step is to lure Bakura out," he thought to himself as he sorted his deck. "Lure him out into my chaos where I'LL have the upper-hand. Then, I take him down."  
  
He looked over at the pool again and then at two monster cards in his hand.  
  
"They won't be able to stop this," he thought to himself.  
  
******  
  
End of Chapter 14  
  
Please Review! And next chapter up sometime today!  
  
"Yes! Thanks for reading!" 


	15. Chapter 15: Swap Duel

Chapter 15: Swap Duel  
  
NOTE: I don't have names for the gangster kids, so I'm just going to call them "Sunglasses" and "Green-eyes" (please don't laugh too hard) respectively, although they lack all the honor of a duelist themselves. ;)  
  
Also, in reply to Lady of the thread, drat! I knew I made Joey say something he shouldn't. Oh well. We'll pretend he overheard them talking until I can fix it. ;)  
  
And Ishizu, Lihito(Odeon, whatever) and Malik will enter in my NEXT story, as I've already plotted that one out, and they fit perfectly. But if you want, there'll be a brief scene with them in this chapter! Enjoy! (And I'm not sure of the spelling of "naisa," but it is pronounced, Nai-sa  
  
*****  
  
Chapter 15:  
  
"Naisa? (sister)" Malik Ishtar asked as he, his sister, and their friend, Lihito, sat outside on chairs on the sandy plain of Egypt.  
  
"Yes, Malik?" she asked, pushing her hair back and off her neck. It was only June, but it was already hot, and very hot if you live in a desert.  
  
"You've been really quiet lately, is something wrong?" Her little brother asked her. "Haven't you noticed, Lihito?"  
  
  
  
Lihito nodded. He had noticed Ishizu had been a lot less talkative lately. She had come back from a trip to Domino City a few weeks earlier, but ever since had been quite silent.  
  
"Nothing is really wrong," she tried to explain. "But I keep sensing something…something that makes me feel like Yugi and the Pharaoh are in danger."  
  
"Danger?" Malik's eyes widened. "Naisa, what kind of danger?"  
  
Ishizu shook her head. Even without her Millennium Necklace, Ishizu was good at figuring things out, and solving mysterious with people. But it seemed during her last visit, a dark force had hung over Yugi and his friends.  
  
"I don't know, Malik," Ishizu answered at last. "But whatever it is, I can tell the Pharaoh will need help."  
  
Malik jumped up, excited.  
  
"Why don't we go help him, then?" Malik asked eagerly. "I still owe him for everything I did to him and his friends, and this would be a very good opportunity to help, right Lihito?"  
  
Lihito nodded.  
  
Ishizu looked from her brother to Lihito, then sighed and smiled.  
  
"All right," she agreed. "We'll leave for Japan tomorrow morning."  
  
******  
  
The wind blew by the four, two on one side facing the other two, like a western showdown. Duke and Amber had managed to find their Duel Disks and their opponents already had theirs strapped on. Amber pulled her deck out of her pocket and jammed it into the deck recognizer.  
  
Duke did the same and their life points set to 4000.  
  
"DUEL!" Four voices yelled at once and Amber, Duke, The sunglasses boy, and the green-eyed boy, all drew their opening hands.  
  
"Remember," Sunglasses said. "The winners can keep the loser's decks."  
  
Duke nodded.  
  
Amber looked at her hand and gasped.  
  
"Oh…no…" She moaned.  
  
The cards in her hand were not ocean monsters and mermaids, they were zombies and machines, along with trap and magic cards she'd never seen before. Then she remembered; when Duke and she were confronted by the two baddies, they were holding the other one's deck and put it into their own pocket!  
  
She glanced over at Duke who looked equally as shocked. He, too, was holding a hand full of unfamiliar cards.  
  
"What's wrong with you two?" Green-eyes asked, looking impatient. "Ladies first." he sneered at Amber who gave a small nod to Duke, to let him know she wasn't backing out.  
  
"All right, my turn!" she called, picking a card.  
  
"What is Duke's strategy?" she wondered as she looked at the cards in her hand.  
  
  
  
She bit her lip.  
  
"Okay, I play 13th Grave in defense mode," she announced, playing a zombie monster on the field. "ONe card face down and I also add ground collapse, which disables two of your monster card zones from being used. I disable yours!" she pointed at Sunglasses who shrugged.  
  
"My turn," he announced, picking a card. "One card face down, and I play Opticlops in attack mode!" He played a cyclops -like monster on the field. It's stats were 1800/1700.  
  
"Sheesh, that's strong!" Duke thought, picking his card.  
  
He had Red Archery Girl in his hand, along with a few weaker creatures.  
  
"Red Archery Girl's attack power, 1400, isn't good enough to beat Opticlops right now…but I think Amber has a little trap set," he thought remembering cards from his own deck.  
  
Amber nodded, knocking he probably had one of her mermaids in hand.  
  
"Red Archery Girl in attack mode!" he announced, and the mermaid appeared, holding a red bow and arrow, protected by a shell.  
  
"I play a card face-down and I'll end my turn!" he called.   
  
"They know my card is a trap, and will try to destroy it instead of Amber's, not realizing it is her trap that will help Red Archery Girl, not mine," Duke thought as Green-eyes picked his card.  
  
"Go, Hysteric Fairy! (1800/500)" he called, playing another strong monster. "Then I play, Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy that trap of yours!"  
  
A large tornado-like funnel came blasting over and destroyed Duke's face down card, Tornado Wall.  
  
"Aww…" Duke muttered, pretending to be upset.  
  
"Ha! Now nothing protects that stupid archer of yours! Go, Hysteric Fairy! Attack!" Green Eyes ordered, and his fairy charged forward.  
  
  
  
"Not so fast!" Amber declared, flipping open her card. "Quick-play magic card, Rush Recklessly! It adds 700 more power to Red Archery Girl's attack, enabling her to defeat that fairy of yours!"  
  
Red Archery Girl pulled back an arrow and shot it out, right through Hysteric Fairy, destroying her and lowering Green-eyes life points to 3700.  
  
"Er…." he muttered angrily. "This turn is over."  
  
"My turn!" Amber declared, drawing a card. "Yes!" she said happily, moving 13th grave into the graveyard and playing a new monster. "Summoned Skull!"  
  
"Yes! One of my strongest monster!" Duke cheered.  
  
"Direct attack!" she ordered and the skull fried Green-eyes' life points to 1200.  
  
"This isn't how it was supposed to be!" Green-eyes snapped at Sunglasses.  
  
Sunglasses shrugged and picked a card.  
  
"All right!" he cheered, playing a magic card. "Raigeki!"  
  
"On no!" Duke cried, as Red Archery Girl and Summoned Skull vanished in a blaze of lightning.  
  
"That card destroys all opponent's monsters!" Amber cried.  
  
"Right," Sunglasses smirked, playing Hayabusa Knight. "Both of you!" he ordered his monsters, attack the pony-tail guy!"  
  
"HEY!" Duke said angrily, but was attacked three times, twice by Hayabusa Knight due to its effect and once by Opliclops.  
  
"Duke!" Amber cried as Duke's life dropped to 200.  
  
"Don't sweat it, Amber," Duke said calmly, picking a card. "Go, Cure Mermaid!(1500/800) in attack mode!"  
  
"And now, directly attack and wipe out the life points of him!" Duke ordered, pointing to green eyes.  
  
"NO!" Green eyes cried, as his life fell to zero and his holograms shut down.  
  
He looked angrily at his "partner" who hadn't been helping him out and stomped away.  
  
"Hey, come back!" Sunglasses yelled, though his partner didn't reply.  
  
"What's wrong, Sunglasses?" Amber asked.  
  
The boy's eyes narrowed.  
  
"What did you call me?!" he spat.  
  
Amber shrugged.  
  
"Well, you never bothered to introduce yourselves, so I just have to call you either "you" or "Sunglasses," as that's one of the more noticeable things about your attire," Amber said smartly.  
  
Sunglasses scratched his head.  
  
"WHAT?!" he asked, totally lost.  
  
Amber drew her card with a sigh.  
  
"Forget it," she said, putting a magic card into her duel disk. "The game is over now. Monster Reborn! Come back, Summoned Skull!"  
  
The large white and purple demon-like monster appeared in front of Amber again, and although she was controlling it, she didn't appear to enjoy it too much.  
  
"I'd rather win a duel with the Archer, but we'll get to that in a minute, right Duke?" she asked with a grin.  
  
Duke winked and Amber turned back to the duel.  
  
"Lightning Strike attack on Opticlops!" she ordered and Opticlops was destroyed with one swift bolt of lightning.  
  
Sunglasses looked astonished.  
  
"You…you…" he stammered as he backed away from the duel.  
  
Then, seeing there was no hope left to win, turned and ran swiftly down the alley and away from Duke and Amber. The hologram Summoned Skull and Red Archery Girl disappeared, leaving Duke and Amber alone again.  
  
Amber plucked the deck and the graveyard cards out of her duel disk and held them out to Duke.  
  
"Great deck, Duke," she complimented with a giggle as he handed hers back too.  
  
"Same with yours," Duke agreed, laughing.  
  
Amber stretched.  
  
"Man, we didn't even need to use our OWN decks to beat those losers," she said as they began walking again.  
  
Duke nodded.  
  
"We didn't get their decks, but I wasn't going to take them anyway," Duke said to her.  
  
"Who needs their cards?" Amber asked, more of a statement than a question.  
  
Suddenly, a little buzzer went off. Amber whirled around to see what was making the noise, then she realized it was her watch.  
  
"Oh, what time is it?" she asked, turning on the indiglo. She gasped.  
  
"What time?!" Duke demanded.  
  
"12:50! We've only got ten minutes to get changed and get up to the pool for the race!" Amber cried.  
  
Duke grabbed her hand and the two ran down the sidewalk, hoping not to be too late.  
  
******  
  
End of Chapter 15  
  
  
  
So, Ishizu and Malik should arrive at the beginning of my next story, but we might see them a bit more during this one too. ;)  
  
"Please review! Thank you and next chapter up by tomorrow morning!" 


	16. Chapter 16: Underwater Chaos

Chapter 16: Under Water Chaos  
  
Meanwhile, Seto, Yugi, and Mokuba had already met up at the pool, Seto and Yugi already changed into swimming clothes. (Mokuba hadn't signed up, so he said he would just watch everyone else.)   
  
Joey and Triston were no where in sight, but Bakura was watching them secretly from behind the fence. The water seemed a bit rougher than usual, as if it had been just called for adult swim and waves were still flapping back and forth from all of the kids rushing to get out of the pool.  
  
Seto noticed this, and narrowed his eyes. He looked around for any sign of Taerro, or some else who could have done anything about this. No one was nearby.  
  
"Ni-sama?" Mokuba asked, looking up at his brother.  
  
Seto looked down.  
  
  
  
"I hope you do well!" Mokuba encouraged him.  
  
Seto smiled.  
  
"Thanks," he replied, and then Amber and Duke, rushing toward them out of breath caught his eye.  
  
"Sorry…we…we're late…"Amber panted, bending over her knees to catch her breath. She had put her long brown hair back into a bun so it wouldn't get in the way during the race and was wearing an emerald-green bathing suit.  
  
"Yeah…we…we…were in a…a duel…and…" Duke tried to say, but was cut off by an announcer who was walking around near the other end of the pool, carrying a microphone.  
  
  
  
"Shhh," Yugi whispered, holding a finger to his lips. "You can tell us later."  
  
Amber nodded, glad she didn't have to explain herself. She needed to catch her breath, or she's never keep up in the race.  
  
"Welcome, all contestants, to the swimming race of this year's Summer Festival!" The announcer announced, walking back and forth, the microphone cord trailing behind him.  
  
"I hope all of our contestants are here and ready!" he continued. "You will all receive a numbered arm-band with the number of where you were on the list. For example, if you were the 2nd person to sign up, you would have an armband with number 2 on it. My helpers here will be passing them out to you. We have a total of 21 contestants; it's lucky we have such a big pool!"  
  
The announcer laughed at his own joke, and a few others chuckled.  
  
A girl walked by and checked her list, then handed Amber number 7, Duke number 8, Yugi number 9, and Seto number 10.   
  
"Good luck!" she told them with a flashy smile as she continued on to the next bunch of kids.  
  
"You'd better go sit down over there, Mokuba," Seto said, pointing out a chair nearby. "You don't want to be splashed with water in your clothes when we take off."  
  
Mokuba grinned and shook his head.  
  
  
  
"Good luck everyone!" Mokuba called politely as he trotted away.  
  
"Now! If you'll please get in that order!" The announcer called, and everyone moved around and positioned themselves so that they formed a number line, stretching from 1-20.  
  
"Ready…." The man said, drawing out the word.  
  
Everyone nodded eagerly as the water splashed in front of them, even though no one was in the pool.  
  
******  
  
Meanwhile, Tea, Triston, and Joey had arrived at the location of the dune racing, and were waiting in line to get helmets and knee and elbow pads.  
  
"What do we need all this silly padding for anyway?" Joey grumbled as he fished through a bucket that was lying in the sand and was full of helmets of all sizes and colors.  
  
"It's for PROTECTION," Tea snapped, picking up a teal blue helmet and trying it on. "But we're all going to get head-lice or something from using other people's helmets," she added, irritated as she was lead to a bike that would be her size.  
  
Triston shook his head.  
  
"Always the girls," he muttered as he snapped on his own black helmet. "Where's Serenity, by the way?" he asked Joey as Joey strapped on some too-tight knee pads.  
  
"Still running that booth with Mai," he grumbled as he hopped around on one foot, trying to get the pad off now.  
  
"How's their business going?"  
  
"I think I've been the only customer," Joey grumbled, standing up, now that he was properly padded.  
  
He and Triston walked around and chose bikes next to Tea's in the long line of bikes parked at the starting line.  
  
After listening to a lecture on how to use the bikes properly, the women backed away from the racing field and blew a whistle.  
  
Instantly, the bikes set off down the path.  
  
*******  
  
"Go!" The announced back at the pool called, and everyone dove into the deep pool and began to swim across.   
  
It was a 4 lap race, meaning they had to swim to the other end and back 4 times, so it was a good idea to pace yourself, as Amber, Duke, and Seto were demonstrating. Yugi was going as fast as he could, but he couldn't keep up with the others and was soon very far behind.   
  
Some of the other swimmers were going at full power, and then died out at the end of the lap, panting and gasping for air.  
  
As they swam, Amber felt something brush up against her leg. She gasped and swam harder.  
  
"Hey, remember!" Duke shouted. "Pace yourself!"  
  
"I…" Amber choked on a bit of water. "I know!" she called back as they reached the wall and turned around to go back.  
  
As Seto, Amber, and Duke reached the middle of the pool, one giant tentacle rose up out of the water and came splashing back down, causing the whole pool to shake.  
  
Several people screamed in the audience, and many off the swimmers near the wall turned and got out of the pool in a hurry.  
  
"What the heck!…!" Amber cried as the pool began to swirl in a whirlpool practically. Seto, Duke, and Amber were being sucked into the center of the pool, right where the giant fish was!  
  
"Ni-sama!" Mokuba cried, running towards the water, back a wet hand grabbed him.  
  
Mokuba turned around to see Yugi.  
  
"Don't go near that water!" Yugi instructed. "They are Shadow Monsters! I've got to get back to my locker and get the Millennium Puzzle!"  
  
Yugi turned and ran down the pavement, despite the normal rule, trying not to slip. Mokuba watched after him and then looked, horrified back into the water.  
  
Seto was in the very center, along with Amber, Duke, and two other swimmers. The giant monster rose two of it's tentacles out of the water and grabbed onto Amber's and Duke's ankles. Then, it began to pull them back down into the water.  
  
Amber screamed before she was dragged under the watery surface. She struggled to make the creature let go, but it was no good. It was much stronger than she was.  
  
Under the water, she saw two other fish. One large, rainbow striped one, and a shark of some sort. Her eyes followed the tentacle holding her back to a huge jellyfish with white skin, I guess you'd call it, and long blue tentacles.  
  
She squirmed around again, but could break free. Duke pounded his fist upon the monster's tentacle, but it didn't even phase the huge monster.  
  
"Let go!" he pleaded in his mind.  
  
Meanwhile, Seto had dove down to see if he could help Duke or Amber in some way, but he was intercepted by the shark, who popped up in front of him, snapping it's jaws.  
  
"Great," he thought sarcastically, swimming back up to the surface, closely trailed by the shark.  
  
He looked around for something to use as a weapon, but didn't see any. But, he had an idea of something else he could use. He swam over to the rope that divided one section of the pool from another as the shark swam behind him, much faster, of course, as the shark was built for swimming.  
  
"Come and get me," Seto muttered to himself as the shark opened it's jaws to bite, but Seto ducked underwater just in time, and the shark only succeeded in chopping the rope in half.  
  
Seto came to the surface and grabbed the part of the rope that had been chopped.   
  
Meanwhile, running out of air, Duke did the last thing possible. He reached down, opened his mouth and bit the tentacle with all his might, praying it would be enough to loosen its grip.  
  
It was. The tentacle slacked, and Duke swam frantically over to Amber. He bit that tentacle too, causing it to loosen, and, grabbing Amber's hand, pulled them up to the surface.  
  
Gasping for air, the two swam over to the side of the pool.  
  
"Whew," Amber sighed as Duke pulled her up on the edge. "What the heck was that?"  
  
Duke shook his head.  
  
"I….don't know," he panted. "Maybe…another shadow monster?"  
  
Amber shrugged as she rung out her hair. (Her bun had fallen out during the experience.)  
  
"Look!" she cried suddenly, noticing Seto swimming away from the shark. "Kaiba's still in the pool!"  
  
Duke looked up and saw him too. He had half of a pool divider-rope in his hands.  
  
"How do we get him out!?" Mokuba, from behind them, asked frantically.  
  
The other two swimmers who had been in the center of the pool had already managed to get away, leaving Seto to be the only person left in the pool, and also the only target left for the hungry fish.  
  
"Go!" Yugi called from behind them, holding up a shiny duel monster card, his Millennium Puzzle glowing brightly.  
  
The Dark Magician popped out of the card, causing more frantic people who were running away from the scene to scream in terror. The Dark Magician took careful aim, and blasted the shark to bits. Seto reached the wall, and panting, pulled himself up on the side.  
  
"Ni-sama!" Mokuba cried, running over to his brother and hugging him, despite the fact he was sopping wet.  
  
Meanwhile, the Dark Magician took out the Seven-Colored Fish, and Yami held up another card.  
  
"Dark Magician Girl!" he called, looking slightly odd, summoning monsters in his swimming clothes, soaking wet. "Aid your master and destroy the Giant Jellyfish!"  
  
Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl put their staffs together and blasted pink and purple magical spells into the pool. An explosion could be heard from the surface, indicating that the jellyfish had been destroyed. The two magicians vanished, and Yami put his deck back into the bag he had been carrying.  
  
Seto and Mokuba walked over to Yugi, Duke, and Amber.  
  
"What was that all about?" Seto demanded, still panting from the swim.  
  
"I don't know for sure…" Yami began, looking from Duke and Amber to Seto and Mokuba. "But I think there's someone after us…"  
  
"Or we're caught in the middle of a battle between two people!" Mokuba piped up.  
  
Yami nodded slowly.  
  
"All I know for now, is that EVERYONE is in danger here!"  
  
******  
  
End of Chapter 16  
  
Please review, and next chapter up tomorrow!  
  
"Thanks!" 


	17. Chapter 17: Dune Danger!

Chapter 17: Dune Danger!  
  
  
  
Notes: Thanks for your review, GDG! It really inspired the first part of this chapter. ;)  
  
"Yeah!"  
  
And thanks for the Japanese spelling tip, Emerald Dragyn!  
  
And one more thing: Something said in this chapter will give you a clue as to what the next story is about. ;) It's slightly obvious if you think about it, and if you've ever read my "The Right Prize, for the Right Person."  
  
Enjoy!  
  
******  
  
Chapter 17: Dune Danger!  
  
"We have to help them out then," Amber said, grabbing a towel off a stack on a chair. (Most of the people from before had left already without bothering to grab a towel, so there were plenty left.)  
  
Duke made a face.  
  
"Something wrong, Duke?" Yami asked, taking a towel as well.  
  
"Yeah..." he muttered, looking around. "I need to get a drink!"  
  
  
  
He ran off down to the locker rooms.  
  
Yami and Seto looked confused.  
  
"A drink?" Yami asked.  
  
Amber laughed.  
  
"Well, he kinda had to bite the jellyfish to make it let go...and I guess it wasn't very tasty," she chuckled.  
  
Mokuba laughed.  
  
"Before we go chasing after more monsters, though, you guys ought to get dressed in dry clothes," he pointed out.  
  
Seto grabbed a towel as well, and nodded.  
  
"All right," he said, starting off toward the locker rooms. "Come on Mokuba. I'm not leaving you alone out here."  
  
Mokuba smiled and hurried after his brother. Yami and Amber followed them down the hallway. Duke was getting a long drink out of the water fountain. He finally stopped drinking, he sighed.  
  
"That was good," he said dreamily, then his mind returned to reality. "Okay, so what's the plan?" he asked Yami and Seto.  
  
"We get dressed, then we find the others!" Yami said sternly.  
  
Duke nodded.   
  
  
  
"Okay!"  
  
******  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, the dune race began, all the vehicles zooming across the beach, each hoping to reach the finish line first.  
  
"I'm glad there are no turns in this race," Tea thought to herself as she bounced a little of a bit of uneven sand. "I'd probably tip over!"  
  
  
  
Beside her, Joey looked quite nervous, although he wasn't showing it. He wasn't going at the maximum speed limit, like he said he would and was trying desperately not to bump into anyone else.  
  
Up in the lead, with no surprise, considering he rode a motorcycle around all the time, was Triston, who looked quite at ease riding.  
  
"This is a piece of cake," he thought to himself as he steered clear of a beach ball someone had mistakenly left on the beach.  
  
"Watch out for that ball!" he called back to the others.  
  
As Tea approached the ball, she steered away from it, but it simply moved right in front of her! She swerved out of the way and nearly tipped over as she slammed on the breaks, stopping only a few feet from where the ocean's waved were lapping up on the shore.  
  
She pulled off her helmet, shaking, and turned around to see what had happened. The beach ball was rolling around on the floor of the beach, due to the wind that was blowing by.  
  
Tea sighed as the last of the dune riders continued on. She slipped her helmet back on and continued after them after some difficulty in moving the vehicle back on course.  
  
"I may as well just have some fun with this thing if I can't win," she said, deciding to go at her own pace now and enjoy the ride, not so much competing in it anymore.  
  
"Where's Tea?" Joey screamed over the roar of the engines as he approached Triston.  
  
Triston, after making sure no one was ahead of him, looked behind him for a second. In the distance, he caught a glimpse of Tea on the very last bike.  
  
  
  
"She dropped back to last place," he shouted back, then increased his speed and literally left Joey in the dust.  
  
Joey coughed on the dust and squinted ahead. It was hard to see through his helmet's plastic protector, as it was now splotched with mud.  
  
"Triston, you jerk," he muttered, trying to catch up with his friend.  
  
******  
  
Yami Taerro walked down the pavement, both disappointed and discouraged. He had stolen the Shadow Powers of the Spear Cretin, and of Yami Malik. He had been strengthened by the powers of Amber's spirit, but he still couldn't compare with Yugi.   
  
Yugi always had his friends, his deck, and the Millennium Puzzle to help him.  
  
  
  
"If only I'd been able to take that puzzle back at the tournament!" Yami Taerro scowled, kicking a pebble down the sidewalk. "It's powers must have been tremendous for me to sense them as I did, that day when I was walking by the prize showcase. That's what made me enter the tournament."  
  
Suddenly, a round of screams caused Yami Taerro to look up. Down on the beach, there was a dune race going on. The finish line was only meters away, so what was the screaming about.  
  
Suddenly, he saw it. There was a large monster coming up out of the sand; a Sand Stone monster! Several bikes swerved out of the way to avoid crashing into it, Triston and Joey included. Triston continued on toward the finish line, and Joey turned around and began driving in the other direction.  
  
"There's only one person who had the power, and the will, to do this," Yami Taerro though. "Bakura. We're both doing the same thing! Trying to lure each other out! But it won't work now that I know his plans…"  
  
******  
  
As Tea continued her pleasant ride, Joey suddenly zoomed past her. Her hair blew backwards from the motion of the vehicle and she slammed on her brakes.  
  
She turned around to see Joey, but all she saw was his bike, driving away, leaving behind a trail of dust.  
  
"What is he doing?" she wondered, starting up her vehicle again and turning around. "Well, I'll just have to see."  
  
She stepped on the accelerator and zoomed after her friend.  
  
*****  
  
Meanwhile, Mr. Taylor had arrived at the festival. He bought a map of the area and the attractions, then started off down the path of booths, looking for some sign of his son and his friends.  
  
"Now I wonder where those kids could be," he pondered as he walked by the hot dog stand, reading his map. "Wow!" he cried excitedly, rubbing his eyes and looking at the map again. "It says there's a play about the founding of this village today at 4:00! We've got to check that out."  
  
"Mr. Taylor?"  
  
Mr. Taylor turned around and saw he had just walked up to Serenity and Mai's booth. The two looked hot, sweaty, and discouraged.  
  
"Hello girls," he said cheerfully, leaning on the booth. "How's business."  
  
Mai sighed.  
  
  
  
"We sold two bottles of nail polish and Mai's bracelet," Serenity said with an optimistic smile.  
  
"Well, that's something," Mr. Taylor commented happily, looking at the girl's selections. "I'll take this brown nail-polish for my wife," he said, picking it up. "How much?"  
  
"1.50, I didn't think anyone would want brown," Mai said, opening her register.  
  
"Nonsense," Mr. Taylor chuckled, paying for his purchase. "Lots of people like brown."  
  
Mai shrugged.  
  
"You haven't seen Triston or any of the others by chance, have you?" he asked, putting the nail polish in his pocket.  
  
Mai shook her head.  
  
  
  
"The last people we saw was Joey a few hours ago, and Tea going off to the dune race," Mai said.  
  
  
  
"Triston said he was competing in the race too!" Serenity remembered. "And my brother!"  
  
Mai checked her watch.  
  
"It's been 15 minutes into the race," she told Mr. Taylor. "You might be able to catch the award ceremony."  
  
Mr. Taylor turned to walk away.  
  
  
  
"Thanks for your help, girls," he said, hurrying away to see the race.  
  
Mai sighed.  
  
"At least he bought something!" Serenity said happily.  
  
Mai sighed again.  
  
******  
  
Yami, Seto, Mokuba, Amber, and Duke hurried down the paths, looking for their friends. Amber spotted Mai and Serenity, but they looked safe enough in their booth surrounded by people. Bakura was sitting on a bench ahead, looking a down at a map of some sort.  
  
"Bakura!" Duke cried, running over to their friend. "There could be monsters on the lose; you need to come with us!"  
  
"Oh…all right," Bakura agreed, looking slightly surprised, of course, Yami Bakura was only making it seem that way. "I'll come."  
  
"Let's split up!" Amber suggested. "Then we can cover twice as much ground."  
  
Yami shook his head.  
  
"Only I can destroy the monsters," he explain, pointing to the puzzle.  
  
"How about if you give us something to fight with?" Amber asked.  
  
Yami fished through his deck and pulled out 3 cards.  
  
"Here, Duke, you can use Buster Blader, Amber, you can use Dark Magician Girl, and Bakura, you can use Beta the Magnate Warrior.  
  
"Be careful," Mokuba warned as the three took their glowing cards.  
  
"When you want it, just call out its name," Yami explained. "That way, we won't scare the guests with our monsters unless it's absolutely necessary."  
  
Amber, Duke, and Bakura nodded.  
  
"Come on," Seto said, looking down toward the beach. "I think I've found a location to start looking."  
  
******  
  
"JOEY!" Tea shouted above the engine roar, trying to get her friend's attention as the two of them zoomed back down the same road they had just take to get to the finish line.  
  
Suddenly, a huge zombie of some sort popped up out of the ground in front of her. It held a long sword, and its blue face was slightly distorted. Tea shrieked and swerved again out of its way as it tried to chop her in half.  
  
She pressed down on the gas pedal as far as it would go and sped down the beach. Joey, hearing the noise. Looked behind him for a second and noticed Tea and what appeared to be the Earl of Demise.  
  
"YOW!" Joey cried, speeding up even more.  
  
"NO JOEY!" Tea cried, but he couldn't hear her; he was too lost in his own world.  
  
The track of racing field was ending just ahead; after he passed that, there would be no where else to ride, and it was to late to try to turn!  
  
*******  
  
End of Chapter 17  
  
Did anyone find out the little clue? ;)   
  
"I bet they didn't"  
  
I'm sure they did, right? Anyway, please review and Chapter 18 up tomorrow morning! 


	18. Chapter 18: The Demise of the Evil Spiri...

Chapter 18: The Demise of the Evil Spirit  
  
Note on the clue: Here's another hint: Yami Taerro sensed something in the prize display case which caused him to enter the tournament a few weeks BEFORE they actually left. On the ride TO the tournament, Yugi's M. Puzzle fell into the display case.   
  
Does this help any in finding out what my next story could be about? ;)  
  
Also, the title of this chapter, The Demise of the Evil Spirit, is referring to the battle between Yami's Taerro and Bakura.   
  
"Which will win? Which will lose? Find out in this chapter!"  
  
Thank you, Red Archery Girl. ^_^ ; Let's go!  
  
*******  
  
"JOEY!" Tea screeched as his bike kept on going; past the starting line and into the main part of the beach, where families were spread out in various locations; the kids playing in the sand and others swimming in the ocean.  
  
"Ah! Look out!" Joey cried to all the people in his way as he sped down the beach, trying to slow down and get out of the kids' way.  
  
"Run to the water!" Someone's father yelled and everyone on the beach each ran up to the sidewalk or down into the water and out of Joey's way of destruction.  
  
He ran straight into an umbrella that had been poked into the ground as a means of shade and knocked it right over. He punched at it to clear his line of vision, then gasped. He was heading straight for the booths!  
  
"Joey stop!" Tea cried, although she kept on going right after him.  
  
Joey, however, either couldn't hear her, or he was too wrapped up in his own fears as he tried to manipulate the bike away, to no avail.  
  
He slammed on the brakes and skidded through an aisle that was made between the booths for the customers' comfort.  
  
"RUNAWAY BIKE! GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Joey screamed at the top of his lungs, people scattering at the sight of a dune bike riding through.  
  
Mr. Taylor, who had been walking calmly down the path, suddenly caught a glimpse of Joey on his mad bike coming straight towards him.  
  
"OUTTA THE WAY!" Joey shouted, making gestures with his arms.  
  
  
  
Mr. Taylor gasped and jumped right into the hotdog stand not a moment too soon as Joey sped by.  
  
"What in the world?" he asked, looking up and wiping ketchup off his glasses when Tea sped by, going a bit slower than Joey had been.  
  
"Oh my," Mr. Taylor commented.  
  
Then, the Earl of Demise ran by, still waving his long sword like mad.  
  
"My goodness!!!" Mr. Taylor exclaimed.  
  
*******  
  
Meanwhile, Seto, Mokuba, and Yami were hurrying down to the beach, to see what had been the trouble. As they approached, Mokuba suddenly saw the disturbance.  
  
"Hey, Yugi! It's another monster!" he cried, pointing down at the beach where the Sand Stone was moving toward the parked bikes and bikers.  
  
"Oh no! It's heading straight for the contestants!" Yami cried, pulling out his Dark Magician card. "Go! Dark Magician! Destroy Sand Stone!"  
  
The Dark Magician lunged forward and flew down into the beach area, raised his staff, and blasted Sand Stone to bits, just as he had done with the water monsters back at the pool. All of the bikers who seconds before hand had been scared out of their wits now clapped their hands together and cheered.  
  
"Yay! Great special effects!"  
  
"This is awesome! I thought that think was real!"  
  
Triston shrunk back a little.  
  
"Actually, is WAS real," he thought to himself, but didn't mention anything to the other bikers.  
  
Yami held up the card and the Dark Magician returned to it, although because of the hill from the beach to the sidewalk, no one noticed Yami was the one calling and controlling the monster who had just saved them. Seto and Mokuba turned to Yami.  
  
"All right," Seto replied, crossing his arms. "How many more of them do you think there are?"  
  
Yami shrugged.  
  
"I don't know," he replied vaguely. "But we have to stop whoever is summoning them."  
  
"Well, that's obvious," Seto replied, turning around and squinting down to where the booths were set up. "Is that a dune bike riding through the shopping area?" he asked in mild surprise.  
  
  
  
Yami brushed past him and looked down. Sure enough, two bikes were zooming through the isles, knocking over booths, tables, and sending everything from nail polish from Mai's booth to hotdogs from the hotdog stand.  
  
"Who's that chasing them?" Mokuba asked, pointing at a blue figure holding a sword in his hands, running swiftly after the two bikes.  
  
"It's another monster!" Yami cried, breaking into a run and starting off toward the booths. "Come on!"  
  
Seto and Mokuba took off after Yami.  
  
******  
  
Meanwhile, Yami Bakura looked both ways before walking out of the alley and back onto the main street. No one was really around. He grinned. He'd told Amber and Duke he was going to get a drink of water, but of course, he really wasn't.  
  
"This is a perfect opportunity to cause more chaos," he thought, pulling out his Duel Monsters deck.  
  
"Not so fast," A sharp voice from behind him snapped, and Yami Bakura whirled around to see Yami Taerro standing in the shadows of the alley.  
  
"Oh, it's only you," Yami Bakura thought airily, continuing to sort through his deck. "Get lost before I make you."  
  
Yami Taerro's eyes narrowed behind the gold-rims of his glasses.  
  
"Don't underestimate me," he said icily. "I've been strengthened with powers far beyond your pathetic abilities."  
  
Yami Bakura looked up from his cards, angry.  
  
"Are you challenging me?" he asked irritated.  
  
Yami Taerro grinned.  
  
"That's usually what I do when I talk about my powers," he said, stepping into the light more. "Now let me show you their full extent."  
  
Yami Bakura walked forward a few steps as well.  
  
"This should be easy," he thought, his Millennium Ring beginning to glow.  
  
Yami Taerro's bracelet began to glow brightly, and at the same time, they shot out powerful rays. However, Yami Taerro's exceeded Yami Bakura's so much, that a few seconds after their collision, Yami Bakura's beam was driven completely backwards, and Yami Bakura was left with no protection from Taerro's quick moving attack.  
  
"Good bye, Bakura," Yami Taerro laughed, as the beam crashed into Yami Bakura. He cried out for a second, and then Bakura's body collapsed on the floor.  
  
Yami Taerro grinned.  
  
"No more Bakura," he thought evilly. "Now, let's get rid of this body…"  
  
Suddenly, Bakura's eyes opened and he looked around, confused.  
  
"What…what is going on here?" he asked, sitting up. "Taerro?" he asked, looking up into his friend's, or so he thought, eyes.  
  
Instantly, Yami Taerro began to act like his host.  
  
"Oh, hello Bakura," he said innocently. "You tripped over a box. Let me help you."  
  
"It seems I've only destroyed the evil spirit of the ring this boy wears," Yami Taerro thought in disgust. "No matter. This boy is so foolish and naïve, and innocent, he'd never want to use the powers in that ring anyway. My job is done here."  
  
"Oh, thanks…" Bakura mumbled as he took Taerro's hand and pulled himself to his feet. "…funny, I don't remember even being in this alley. I though I was back at the sign up sheets."  
  
"That fall must have done something to your memory," Taerro explained. "I've read all about partial-amnesia."  
  
"Oh my," Bakura said sadly. "I don't want amnesia."  
  
Taerro laughed.  
  
"No, you only forgot a few things, like what you did between now and the signing up this morning," he explained.  
  
"Well, that's a relief," Bakura sighed. "Where are the others?"  
  
Taerro shrugged.  
  
"I don't know," he replied. "Maybe we out to go look for them."  
  
Bakura nodded and the two walked off down the path.  
  
******  
  
"JOEY!" Tea screamed again as the earl slashed out and hit her bike.   
  
The whole thing tipped over, sending her flying off.  
  
"Whoa!" she cried as she hit the sand a few feet away.  
  
The earl growled and advanced on her, waving his sword back and forth, as if to intimidate her, although just seeing him was enough to send her into a fit of fright.  
  
  
  
Quavering, she scooted backwards slowly, until she could feel the waves lapping up on the back of her shirt. The monster raised his weapon, took aim, and prepared to bring it down upon her.  
  
"Buster Blade Slash!" Duke yelled and his Buster Blader monster rushed forward and chopped the earl of demise down to size. (Or, in more appropriate terms, slashed through it and killed it.)  
  
Tea sat there for a moment, baffled, as Amber and Duke ran up to her.  
  
"Hey Tea," Amber called, holding out her hand to help Tea to her feet. "Are you all right?"  
  
Shaking, Tea grabbed Amber's hand.  
  
"I…I guess," she muttered, looking around. "Where's Joey?" she asked suddenly, looking wildly around.  
  
"Joey? Was he the other one of the bikes?" Duke asked, also looking around.  
  
Tea nodded.  
  
"JOEY!?" she called, cupping her hands up to her mouth to magnify her voice. "JOOOEEY?"  
  
"What?" Came a groan from behind them.   
  
Joey, battered and bruised looking, was limping over to them, holding his helmet at his side. Tea rushed over to him.  
  
"Are you all right?!" she asked frantically. "What were you doing?!"  
  
"I was running away from the killer monster that came up out of the sand at me, what else?" he replied angrily.   
  
"Oh," Duke said, blinking in surprise. "Well at least I think that was the last of the monsters," he added, looking around at the wreck of a festival. "I just hope the rest of the festival can continue."  
  
"You and me both," Joey sighed. "I'm starving!"  
  
Amber giggled and looked at her watch.  
  
"Good news, Joey," she said happily, showing him the time. "Only ten minutes more, and then the pie-eating contest begins!"  
  
*****  
  
End of Chapter 18  
  
NOW does anyone know?  
  
"I think you were still too vague."  
  
I don't! They figured it out now, right? Anyway, please review! Thank you! 


	19. Chapter 19: The Positively Pounding Pie ...

Chapter 19: The Positively Pounding Pie Contest  
  
Notes: DMG: Thanks. I know Tristan is spelled with an "A" but for some reason I can't train my fingers to type that way. (They've memorized the way with the "O"!) :`(  
  
Also, you guys are starting to figure it out now but…  
  
"*Giggles at Lady of the Thread's note*"  
  
  
  
*Smashes Red Archery Girl's clam shut.  
  
Never mind her! Let's get on with the story here. Oh, and does Yami Bakura EVER disappear for good? Lol, I don't think so!  
  
******  
  
Joey, Duke, Amber, and Tea walked up the sandy hill, following the map to where the Pie Eating Contest would begin in only a few minutes.   
  
"So, do you really think you can eat all those pies, Joey?" Amber asked suspiciously, raising an eyebrow.  
  
Joey nodded eagerly.  
  
"Just give 'em to me and I'll eat 'em," he declared proudly as they approached a tent with the words "Pie-Eating" on it and walked underneath.  
  
"My, do you four look like you've seen a lot!" The women sitting behind the table exclaimed, noticing their battered condition.  
  
"Uh…you could say that," Duke mumbled, rubbing the toe of his shoe into the sand.  
  
Amber and Tea giggled as Joey eyed the table filled with pies with a maniac gleam in his eyes.  
  
"How much longer?" he asked vaguely.  
  
"Uh…7 minutes?" Amber asked uncertainly.  
  
"Too long," Joey shook his head.  
  
Tea sweat-dropped.  
  
*******  
  
Meanwhile, Mr. Taylor, covered in hotdog toppings, walked by the pie eating booth.  
  
"Mr. Taylor!" Tea called, looking behind her and spotting him. "Over here!"  
  
Mr. Taylor turned around.  
  
"Oh, hello Tea, kids," he said politely, taking off his ketchup stained jacket. "What's going on?"  
  
"Joey's entering a pie-eating contest," Duke said with eyes narrowed in exasperation as Amber held Joey back from lunging at the pies.  
  
"I…see," Mr. Taylor said, looking at the sign up sheets on the table. "Can I sign up?" he asked the women at the front desk.  
  
"Oh!" She looked mildly surprised. "Oh, sure, just sign right here. We'll start in about 5 minutes."  
  
She leaned her head out of the tent and looked around.  
  
"Where IS everyone? It's like they all left!" she cried irritated.  
  
All four grinned and put on smiles of fake-innocence.  
  
"Uh…maybe it was too hot," Tea suggested.  
  
"Yeah, maybe," Duke agreed.  
  
******  
  
Meanwhile, Yami Yugi let Yugi take over again.  
  
"Well, it looks like the others took care of the last monster," Yugi announced to Seto and Mokuba.  
  
Seto leaned against the wall of a building, his arms crossed.  
  
"That's good then," he replied.  
  
Mokuba nodded.  
  
"Yeah," he agreed with a nod. "I don't think I'd like to meet up with another one of those weird monsters again!"  
  
Suddenly, a noise from behind the three caused Yugi to turn around. Walking up to them was Taerro and Bakura.  
  
"Where have you guys been?" Yugi asked, running up to them. "There were monsters attacking everywhere!  
  
Taerro nodded.  
  
"Yes, I know," he replied. "We were trying to hide from them, but Bakura tripped over something and has partial amnesia."  
  
Yugi's eyes widened.  
  
"Really? How badly?" Yugi asked in a rush.  
  
Taerro shook his head.  
  
"He just forgot what happened between now and this morning, that's all," Taerro said with a shrug. "Nothing serious, I guess, as today wasn't exactly fun, or something I'D want to remember."  
  
However, inwardly, Yami Taerro smiled.   
  
"Actually, I very much want to remember this day," he thought. "The day I defeated one of my enemies."  
  
"Where is everyone else?" Bakura asked, speaking for himself for once.  
  
Seto looked at his watch.  
  
"It's probably time for that pie-eating contest Joey was going to enter," he replied with a shrug. "Maybe they're all over there."  
  
Yugi nodded.  
  
"Let's go then!" Mokuba announced, walking forward.  
  
"Wait up!" Came a voice from behind them.   
  
Everyone turned to see Tristan running up to them, holding in his arms a trophy.   
  
"Wow, mate, that's a mighty large trophy!" Bakura exclaimed. "What did you win it for?"  
  
"…The Dune Race," he said breathlessly. "Where are you guys heading?"  
  
"To see Joey eat pies," Seto said unenthusiastically.  
  
"Great! I hope he wins!" Tristan announced as they hurried over to the tent.   
  
Underneath the canopy, several contestants were sitting down. (There were only 3 aside from Joey and Mr. Taylor, 2 boys and a woman.)  
  
"There's our man!" Tristan called happily. "Go Jo…" he stopped short when he saw his dad tying a napkin around his neck neatly.  
  
  
  
"DAD?!" he asked in complete shock. "You're entering?!"  
  
Duke nodded, walking over to them.  
  
  
  
"That's right, Tristan," he replied with a grin.  
  
"But no one is going to beat Joey!" Tristan protested. "Joey can eat about 5 hamburgers in 3 minutes!"  
  
"And you're saying that a GOOD thing?" Seto asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
Tristan shrugged off the question.  
  
  
  
"Don't worry, Tristan," Yugi replied. "It's just a fun little competition."  
  
"Sure it is," Triston muttered.  
  
*****  
  
"Each contestant has five pies," The announcer began, 5 minutes later when all the contestants and viewers were settled. "The first to finish his or her five pies is declared the winner, or, the person who eats the most. Ready? BEGIN!"  
  
It was almost disgusting to watch at the same time it was exciting. Pie filling was everywhere as the contestants munched their way through their pies.  
  
Joey just lifted his pies out of the tray and took giant bites out of it, as if it were a giant pop-tart. Mr. Taylor was taking gentleman-like bites and had cut his first pie into eight pieces. By the time Joey had finished his second pie (apple), Mr. Taylor was on his third piece.  
  
The two boys quit after two and a half pies, and the woman was still eating, though slower than before, on her third pie. Joey kept on eating past the fourth pie and into his last one.  
  
"Come on Mr. Taylor!" Tea cheered, as no one else was cheering for the poor man, and she felt bad for him.  
  
"Go! Onichan!" Serenity called as Joey started on his fifth and final pie.  
  
"I think we're coming to the home stretch!" Duke announced excitedly.  
  
Mr. Taylor was finishing his fourth piece and the woman stopped eating altogether now. Joey, on the other hand, showed no signs of slowing down.  
  
"The winner!" The announcer called, as Joey took the last bite of his fifth pie.  
  
The audience clapped loudly, especially Yugi and his friends. (Seto didn't do much clapping, though)   
  
"Hey?" Joey poked Mr. Taylor.  
  
"Yes, Joey?" he asked the boy. (Joey had blue and red stains all over everything from his face to his shirt, and even his shoes had been splotched.  
  
"Can I finish your other pies?" he asked.  
  
Mr. Taylor looked surprised.  
  
"Um…I suppose so…" he stammered and the crowd grew silent as Joey began toe at ANOTHER pie!  
  
"What's this?" The announcer asked, looking over at Joey. "The winner is STILL hungry and is now eating another contestant's pies?"  
  
Yugi laughed.  
  
"Joey! Save some for us!" Yugi called, running up to join his friend and Mr. Taylor.  
  
"You kids can share the rest of my pies," Mr. Taylor said, pointing to his remaining three pies. "I'm too full to even look at them."  
  
"Thanks dad," Tristan said happily, sitting down in his dad's seat as Mr. Taylor got up and walked away.  
  
"I'm going to buy a drink," Mr. Taylor explained, walking away.  
  
"Sure dad!" Tristan called through a full mouth as everyone else sat down to enjoy the pies.  
  
While everyone was munching, Mai suddenly walked over to them, holding a fifty dollar bill.  
  
"Guess you did have some business after all," Tea exclaimed, gaping at the bill.  
  
Mai shook her head.  
  
"No, the stand was ruined when two bikes road by, so I just picked up the remainder of the compacts and lipsticks and was going to stash them back at the hotel when one of the managers of the beach stopped me," she replied.  
  
"He said people were leaving his park because of lack of security and fun, and he said if I'd stand at the exit and hand out my make-up supplies to the women and girls who were leaving as an "apology" thing, he'd pay me," she continued. She waved her bill in the air. "Which he did."  
  
She stared at the gang, who were all covered in pie, except people like Seto and Tea and Serenity, who were a bit neater than the others.  
  
"Hey, is there any pie left for me?" she asked, taking a seat next to them.  
  
Yugi nodded, handing her a plate with a piece of blueberry pie on it.  
  
"Thanks," she said, taking a bite. "Did Joey win the contest?"  
  
Duke nodded.  
  
"Of course," Seto replied with a sigh.  
  
Mai grinned.  
  
"Well, I guess today had a pretty sweet ending, wouldn't you say guys?" she asked.  
  
Everyone nodded in agreement as they sat there and enjoyed their pie in the evening sun.  
  
*****  
  
End of Story!  
  
So, what did you think? Leave me a review and let me know!  
  
"And the first chapter of our next story is up too! It's called "The Darker Power" and here is the link!  
  
http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=1391246  
  
Please R+R that one too, if you have time! (It's the sequel to this one!) Thanks! 


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